[ She exhales against his cheek, nodding just slightly enough that she doesn't have to pull away. ]
I know. I know.
[ Her thumbs smooth over bristled cheeks, palms cradling his jaw as she kisses him again and again.
And into the kiss, the barest space between them, ]
I love you, too.
[ And she says it to him, only him, because even while Ego is wearing Peter's face, she can't say it. She won't ever say those words insincerely. ]
More than anything.
[ It's so true that it aches. It's a sharp barb behind her ribs, something that catches and stays her hand – because if she didn't love him, if she didn't feel this way for him, if he wasn't her best friend and every other half of her own jagged edges, it would be so easy. Save the universe, save them all – kill Peter. It would be simple. It would be the right thing to do, and she would do it.
But damn it, sentimentality is a weakness she's never shaken. A softness and sense of mercy that kept drove Gamora to share food with her starving sister, and left Peter alive in his father's hold. She could have killed him months before, so long ago, and maybe she should have (no, she absolutely should have), but she didn't.
no subject
I know. I know.
[ Her thumbs smooth over bristled cheeks, palms cradling his jaw as she kisses him again and again.
And into the kiss, the barest space between them, ]
I love you, too.
[ And she says it to him, only him, because even while Ego is wearing Peter's face, she can't say it. She won't ever say those words insincerely. ]
More than anything.
[ It's so true that it aches. It's a sharp barb behind her ribs, something that catches and stays her hand – because if she didn't love him, if she didn't feel this way for him, if he wasn't her best friend and every other half of her own jagged edges, it would be so easy. Save the universe, save them all – kill Peter. It would be simple. It would be the right thing to do, and she would do it.
But damn it, sentimentality is a weakness she's never shaken. A softness and sense of mercy that kept drove Gamora to share food with her starving sister, and left Peter alive in his father's hold. She could have killed him months before, so long ago, and maybe she should have (no, she absolutely should have), but she didn't.
She couldn't.
But this time, if all else fails...
She won't hesitate. ]