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People always say the same things when it comes to children. That they’re a blessing, that you never understand having kids until you’ve had your own. Kids, according to every parent in the galaxy, are amazing and great to have. But you never, never, hear anyone boasting about how great their teens are. Because teens are not great. They’re dirty, no filthy. They’re snotty, they have attitude, they never want to follow rules. They’re balls of hate, big assholes, contained in hormone riddled bodies. Teenagers suck, but no one will tell you that, because kids are so great to have. But kids become teens, and so maybe having kids is great, but Yondu isn’t about to say that teens are.
Because no matter how bad Peter is now, it’s nowhere near what he was like when he was between the ages of fifteen and twenty-three. And at his worse when he was around the age of seventeen. Because the worst thing Peter has ever done as an adult was plain ignore whatever Yondu told him to do or not do. Peter was so much worse as a teen because not listening was the least of Yondu’s problems. Sneaking out, stealing ships and weapons from Yondu, setting the ship on fire for fun, playing pranks on the other crew members, trying to obtain pets that’d be able to rip them all to pieces if you touched the thing wrong. Those weren’t even the worst, but they were pretty high on the list of terrible things Yondu and Kraglin had to deal with when it came to Peter Jason Quill in his teenage years.
- - -
“Peter!” Yondu shouted as he forced his way into Peter’s sleeping quarters, gritting his sharp teeth so hard his jaw let out a small crack under the pressure. Peter was laying face first on his bed, half undressed and without the covers on. He makes a small grumbling sound and turns his head to look over to the Centaurian, his hair sticking up wildly and his eyes struggling to stay open.
“What?” He spits, his voice thick with sleep.
“Had a late night, did ya, boy?” Yondu keeps the snarl to his tone, his hand gripping the doorway so tight his knuckles hurt.
“Yeah, I did so, if you don’t mind,” Peter tries to grumble, but his voice cracks a little halfway through from being asleep. He makes a small noise and rolls over, flopping his pillow over his head as he snuggles back into his bed. Yondu growls lowly and stomps into Peter’s room, kicking clothes and gadgets out of his path as he moves over to Peter’s bed. He rips the pillow from covering Peter’s head and tosses it across the room.
“Hey-” Peter goes to complain but shrinks back into himself when he sees how pissed Yondu actually is.
“Where is it?” Yondu spits and Peter smirks.
“Halfway across the galaxy by now. You’ll never see it again.” Peter sounds smug, although he’s a little nervous at seeing how angry Yondu is. Yondu slams his fist down on the side of Peter’s bad, making him flinch and instinctively roll away, nearly falling off the other side of the bed.
“I’m this close to letting these boys eat ya!” Yondu shouts, holding his hand up to make a small space between his fingers to show his point. Peter just glares up at him.
“You keep threatening that, but you haven’t made big on your word Yondu,” Peter mutters and Yondu reaches forward and grabs hold of Peter’s shirt. The teen flails his arms out and starts protesting.
“No, wait! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He cries out in a panic, not really sure if Yondu would actually let the crew eat him.
“Are ya really? ‘Cause you were sorry the last time ya sold off some of my shit too.” Yondu hisses and Peter nods quickly.
“I am, I promise.” Yondu can feel him shaking. He feels a little pang of guilt in his chest for scaring the kid so much, but he was tired of losing equipment because Peter thought it was funny to sell it off. Yondu lets out a heavy sigh and lets go of Peter, allowing him to scamper away from him and off the bed. The scrawny teen stands up tall on the other side of his bed, trying to make himself look so much bigger then what they both know he is.
“What’d you get for it?” Yondu asks in a defeated tone. Every day seems to go through the five stages of denial and acceptance. Depression was one he couldn’t afford so he usually comes to accept things a lot easier to make it less painful for himself.
“Ten thousand units.” Peter shrugs and Yondu grits his teeth and tries not to snap again.
“I paid eighty thousand for that ship.” Yondu growls and Peter shrugs again.
“Well it was second hand and the paint job was shit.”
“The engine was the expensive part ya maggot!” Yondu yells and Peter shrugs again which nearly makes Yondu lose it again.
“You’ll get another one,” Peter states, resting his hands on his hips. Before Yondu can say anything else about the matter there’s a somewhat nervous knock at Peter’s door frame.
“Cap’n?” Kraglin asks in a timid voice, knowing that Yondu was busy trying to sort out his current situation.
“What?” Yondu grumbles and looks over at his first mate, his jaw still tense. Kraglin looks over to Peter, feeling a sense of pity for the kid. He was in a way doing him a mercy by pulling Yondu away from their dispute.
“Y’re needed on the bridge.” He mumbles simply. Yondu lets out a heavy sigh and turns back to Peter who was getting on a pair of pants that probably should be washed before they’re warn again.
“We’ll discuss this later.” Yondu huffs before he turns and storms out of the room. Kraglin hesitates for a moment, looking back into the room as he watches Peter somewhat sort out his bed, throwing his pillow back into its place with an exhausted sigh.
“Ya really should show ‘im some respect kid. Yondu’s done more fer ya than ya know.” Kraglin mentions in a low voice. Peter looks over at him with a deep frown.
“Yeah sure, I should be so grateful he hasn’t fed me to this crew. I know, I’ve heard it enough by now.” Peter grumbles and Kraglin drops his gaze to the floor.
“One day, y’ll know.” He turns away and makes his way to the bridge. One day he’ll take it on himself to come clean to Peter about why Yondu kept him here, he’ll tell him everything if he has too, if Yondu won’t do it.
- - -
Kraglin hadn’t left Yondu’s side all day. And not in the way that he was just being a good first mate. No, he was trying to help calm Yondu down after the incident that’d happened that morning. The only problem was that Peter was being more of a shithead today then his usual charming self. He was purposely trying to rile up Yondu, pushing all the wrong buttons to the point that Kraglin suggested that they take a small team out to check out a possible bargain on some shit they didn’t really need while Peter and some of the other crew stay back and do some general maintenance. Yondu agrees much to Kraglin’s relief but says that they don’t need a team and the two of them would go alone. Kraglin was happier with that suggestion, he hasn’t had much time alone with Yondu in a while.
So, they head out and check out the stuff and try to sway the seller to lower the cost of the items. They don’t end up making a deal but Yondu seems to have relaxed a little more so Kraglin suggests that have a look around on the planet they’ve come to and see if anyone else has anything they might be interested in. They don’t really go looking and end up wandering around aimlessly in the scrub like flora that the planet has. They’re just wasting time, and Yondu’s blowing steam. It’s good for both of them. That is until Yondu suddenly stops and sits himself down on a tree stump and lets out a heavy sigh, resting his head in his hands. Kraglin pauses for a moment before he carefully steps over to the Centaurian and sits himself down beside him. Not too close, but closer than anyone else would.
“I ain’t really that bad, right?” Yondu asks in a weak voice. Kraglin hasn’t seen him like this in a long time. He doesn’t usually let himself get down over situations, he’d rather go at it with his fists then let it fester away and make him upset. The last time Kraglin saw him this upset, Peter was still a kid. But lately, the two had been at each other’s throats a lot more then what they ever have been before.
“In what sense Cap?”
“It’s just us Krag.” Yondu mumbles and Kraglin’s shoulders sag a little and he takes the initiative to slide closer to Yondu. “I know ‘m not the best person, but ‘m not that much of an ass to the kid am I?”
Kraglin thinks about it, chewing his own lip. He can’t really judge Yondu’s attempted parenting skills when he doesn’t really have a clue what it’s like to be a parent or how parents handle situations. He knows Peter’s difficult, and he thinks that Yondu is reasonably fair on the kid considering the shit he’s put Yondu under. But some of the threats he throws around do seem like the worst, but he’s never once acted on them. “I don’ think so.”
“He’s so ungrateful.” Yondu growls, even though he doesn’t look angry with Peter, but himself.
“I don’ know why y’re complain’. Y’re the one that raised ‘im.” Kraglin shrugs because he can tell that that’s the real issue here. It’s not Peter, it’s Yondu. He doesn’t know how to handle kids, he took Peter in not knowing how to look after him and to this day still doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s trying, Kraglin can’t take that away from him. But maybe he’s going about it all the wrong way.
“Ya sayin’ ya can do better?” Yondu doesn’t even look up to Kraglin and his tone isn’t harsh. He’s not saying it in an aggressive way, his tone is asking for the help he won’t say he needs.
“What ’m sayin’ is maybe if you let me help ya, we can do better together.” Kraglin leans forward a little so that Yondu’s attention is averted to him. He offers the man an awfully crooked smile and reaches out to take Yondu’s hand in his own. Yondu hesitates for a moment before he turns his hand over and locks their fingers together. Kraglin gives his hand a small squeeze before he turns in his spot so he’s facing Yondu better.
“I ain’t got a clue how to raise no kid, and that makes two of us,” Kraglin sighs and lifts Yondu’s hand to slowly and carefully run his thumbs over the knuckles in his fingers, over old scars that litter his skin. “But if I’ve learnt anything from being a part of y’re crew, it’s that we don’ quit easy. Peter needs ya, no matter how much he’ll say he don’t. An’… an’ I wanna help ya ‘casue he’s not the only one.”
Yondu doesn’t say anything for a long moment and just watches Kraglin continue to play with his fingers like he was trying to distract himself. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but Yondu had taken it upon himself to raise Peter, to keep him from his real Dad and he wasn’t about to give up on the kid and ship him off to Ego. He wanted Peter to be better than him, he wanted him to do great things in his life. But he couldn’t do that if Yondu couldn’t set him straight. Because maybe what they do isn’t for the ‘greater good’, but that doesn’t mean Peter has to be like them.
Yondu sucks in a deep breath and turns a little as well so he’s facing Kraglin better. He reaches up and lightly runs the backs of his fingers down Kraglin’s cheek. Kraglin tilts his head a little and presses his lips to Yondu’s fingers as he looks back up at Yondu. Without saying anything they lean into each other and meet for a soft kiss. Kraglin grips Yondu’s hand tightly in his own while Yondu’s free hand runs down to Kraglin’s throat and lightly holds him in place. Kraglin tilts his head down slightly and breaks the kiss, keeping his forehead pressed lightly against Yondu’s.
“Y’re not alone in this. Ya know that ‘m here for ya. Always have been.” Kraglin’s voice is low and as soft as their kiss had been. It’s probably been at the least a month or so since they were last like this. No walls, no tough exterior. Just the raw and gentle power that was them. The two of them, as they really are, as they are when it’s only them and no one else is anywhere in sight.
There’s nothing Yondu can say to that, not verbally anyway. Because he knows that Kraglin has and always will be there for him no matter what happens. They’re partners, lovers, they needed each other and would always have each other. Yondu tilts his head back up and kisses Kraglin again, just as soft as the first time. Only this time he shifts forward more and while he keeps his hand against Kraglin’s throat, his other comes up to rest against his chest. Kraglin’s hands, in turn, find their places against Yondu’s chest and cheek.
Yondu lightly grazes the points of his teeth against Kraglin’s lip, the sharp edges getting caught on scars that they’d created over the years when they’d get too rough or carried away. Kraglin, in turn, tightens his hold on Yondu and gives the Centaurian’s lips a quick and hard nip of his own. Yondu smirks against Kraglin’s lips before he tilts his head a little and deepens the kiss. This was just what they needed. A moment away from the crew, away from Peter, away from their responsibilities so that they could just be them.
It can’t last forever though and slowly they pull away from each other. Though Yondu isn’t quite finished with Kraglin. He pulls him back in close before he’s able to pull away too much and takes hold of the collar of Kraglin’s jacket and pulls it down and away from his skin. He leans in and lightly kisses down the side of Kraglin’s neck, letting his teeth graze teasingly along the protruding tendon in the side of his throat. Kraglin bites back any sounds he could potentially make and slowly traces his fingertips down the back of Yondu’s neck. When Yondu sits up again, finished with kissing down Kraglin’s neck, he looks a lot better than what he has in months. Kraglin offers Yondu his lopsided smile again.
“I do believe we’ve some business to attend.” Kraglin offers. Yondu smiles back up at him and averts his eyes for a moment like he was checking something. Before Kraglin can turn to see if there was anything around, Yondu shuffles forward once again.
“It can wait a while longer.” He whispers and Kraglin’s smiles widens until he’s grinning softly. He happily leans back into Yondu once again.
- - -
It takes them months, but eventually they sort out some sort of routine. What Kraglin had realised the main problem between Yondu and Peter was, was a lack of space. Which is amusing to think about. They’re in space, flying across the galaxy endlessly. But no matter how big the ship was, it wasn’t big enough for them to catch a breath from each other. Kraglin also realises that the problem isn’t even just Yondu, but the whole crew. It’s just that because Yondu was his carer, Peter took out his frustration on him and in turn, Yondu threw his frustration back at the kid. Peter needs space to let himself just relax and he doesn’t have that. The rest of the crew are used to being confined together endlessly for months on end because they’re adults. Peter’s a teenager, and he needs time alone or better yet, with other beings of the same age range.
So Yondu makes a deal with him. Peter has duties on the ship, and when they take jobs, which s frequent obviously, but Yondu is prepared and happy to make time for Peter. Yondu and Kraglin work to get a ship for Peter, his own M-Ship. They let Peter design the paint job and interior. The three of them work together on it and it’s the first time Kraglin’s seen Peter and Yondu act like they actually like each other.
On the final day of the construction of the ship, while the paint job is being completed, Peter manages to get some of the orange paint to himself and smears it over the back of Yondu’s head and fin. Yondu had tensed up and turned to the kid, fighting off a smile as he wiped at the paint on his skin and tried to slap it across Peter’s body. Kraglin has stood back with a smile and watched as the two wrestled to get paint all over each other. By the time the ship was completed, the two of them donned more paint then it did. They stood back, resting their elbows on each other’s shoulders as they stared up at the ship.
“She’s beautiful.” Peter grinned wide, his face completely lit up with life.
“What’re ya gonna call ‘er?” Yondu had asked, knowing full well Peter had been brainstorming names for days now.
“Milano.” Peter nodded, set fully on the name. Yondu rolled his eyes, having heard the name before. Some actress from Earth or something that Peter has spoken about enough times to be sick of it.
That day was the true start to Yondu and Peter working to fix their relationship.
Now that Peter had his own ship, Yondu made sure there were rules to go with it, rules that Peter actually followed without much argument and with only a few exceptions. When he needed space, he was allowed to disappear into the vastness of space to clear his head, he was allowed to go visit planets they’d bypass to check out when he wanted so long as when Yondu needed him present he was there. Peter didn’t abuse his new privileges, and their fights fell to become rare. Kraglin helped by distracting him when he got too caught up in what was happening. That way he was less irritable, found it easier to relax and would talk to Peter better instead of snapping.
Along the way, Kraglin managed to talk some sense into Peter regarding selling off Yondu’s supplies and creating mayhem on the ship and toward the crew. Peter, much to his surprise, apologised for his previous actions and the pranks he continued to play were to a minimum and weren’t harmful or destructive. It took months, but eventually Yondu could look at Peter with a smile and Peter, in turn, didn’t scowl every time Yondu called his name.
- - -
Kraglin idly follows Yondu along the rough terrain of the planet they were currently on. They had a deal going on in a few hours’ time, they were just waiting for their client to show up. Kraglin had suggested they just relax and Yondu hadn’t argued when that led to them exploring the planet for a bit. Yondu’s been pretty busy the last week so this was a nice breath of fresh air to just have a moment with Kraglin, just Kraglin. They wander silently for a while until they’re far enough to be out of sight from the ships view. Yondu spares a glance over his shoulder before he cautiously reaches his hand out to find Kraglin’s. They lock their fingers together, Kraglin holding back his smile as they just exist together on another alien planet.
“I haven’t really gotten ‘round ta thankin’ ya for helpin’ with Peter.” Yondu mumbles after a moment of peaceful silence. Kraglin shrugs his shoulder lightly. He lifts his gaze and squeezes Yondu’s hand when he catches Yondu’s stare.
“There’s no need.” Kraglin lightly swings their joined hands, trying not to think too much about how it reminds him of when they were younger and they didn’t care about so much, how they didn’t have anything to worry about. It’s such a simple action, yet it felt like it was meant for a time long gone.
“But you ‘ere right. Ya knew what ta do even though you said ya didn’t.” Yondu watches Kraglin through the corner of his eye.
“I just went for a new approach.” Kraglin shrugs his shoulder lightly.
“It was the right call. So, thank you.” Yondu offers Kraglin a soft smile.
“Anything ta see that smile of y’res.”
“Shut up.” Yondu faces away, trying to bite back the grin he can feel spreading across his lips. Kraglin stops them in their tracks, tugging lightly on Yondu’s hand to get him to turn toward himself. He can’t help but stare a little into Yondu’s eyes.
“Seein’ ya happy is worth anything.” Kraglin offers. “An’ if we can knock some sense inta that kid, that’s a bonus.” Kraglin shrugs lightly again, fighting off his own wide grin.
Yondu shakes his head lightly as he steps into Kraglin’s frame. Their arms lightly embrace each other as they meet for a soft kiss. Yondu tilts his head, teasing at a deeper one before he pulls back just enough to look at Kraglin again. “What’d an old fool like me do ta deserve you?”
“Sometimes I ask myself ta same thing,” Kraglin says in a low voice. They smile softly again before moving back in to kiss again. This time Yondu follows through with deepening it. Kraglin’s hold on Yondu tightens with it.
Naturally, it’s short-lived. Yondu’s communicator goes off in his pocket, pulling a low growl from him. Kraglin chuckles and pulls back, going to reach for it only for Yondu to press more against him. “Leave it.”
“It’s probably ta client.” Kraglin tries but Yondu’s grabbing hold of his jaw and tilting his head back so he can keep kissing him.
“He can wait.” Yondu mumbles as he pushes harder against Kraglin, forcing him to step back until he’s being pushed up against a tree. Kraglin can’t help but chuckle from it, breaking the kiss with it. He bows his head, resting his forehead against Yondu’s as he bites his bottom lip.
“What?” Yondu mumbles, only sounding a little disappointed. Kraglin lifts his head again, shaking it lightly as he lifts his hand to cup Yondu’s cheek. He rubs his thumb over his cheek and leans in again to press a light kiss to his lips.
“Nothin’.” He sighs softly, pulling Yondu’s body in closer to his own. “Love you.”
The corner of Yondu’s mouth twitches up into a small smile again. “Love you too.”
Needless to say, they only make their client wait for about ten minutes. That’s what he gets for showing up early anyway.