[ peter heals, much to gamora's relief and the relief of the rest of the other guardians. not that there was much doubt he would, after a certain point, but gamora feels constantly, vividly aware of how close they'd come to losing him after the kree ambush. it was a bad injury, and by all rights, peter shouldn't have made it to the hospital, given how long they were there.
it hadn't— looked good, and when peter was released, the doctor wanted to emphasize exactly how close of a call it had been.
gamora is well aware of that.
(kneeling in that renovated shopfront, peter in her arms, his breathing short and shallow, his body going limp—)
but what matters is that peter is going to recover, and after only a few days stuck in that bed, he's handed over to the guardians so they can put a fair measure of distance between themselves and that previously-pleasant planet. gamora isn't sorry to see it go.
the guardians do very little work for a while, in deference to peter's injury — or they at least take work that doesn't require peter's skills or an extra set of hands. they still have to eat, after all, but peter can't do much by comparison, and even if there may be the occasional griping (usually from rocket), they all know that peter's recovery is their top priority. none of them want to see a repeat, just because they got involved in something too strenuous too quickly.
gamora doesn't bring up the moments that she'd sat with peter, hiding from the kree. it scares her, if she's honest, and it's not entirely due to the fact that peter had nearly died (though that is an incredibly large part of it). what really frightens her is how badly that situation had shaken her, how close she had been to peter, and how much she'd been genuinely distressed over how near he'd come to an early death.
it's because he's her friend, she tells herself.
(her best friend.)
it's because this strange, cobbled-together little family has become something meaningful to her.
(peter has become meaningful to her.)
but to lose her composure so badly...well, it's not a common or regular occurrence.
and she isn't sure what to make of it.
weeks roll by, and gamora is still watching peter's recovery carefully. he's improving, and that's a relief on its own.
(but at some point, she realizes that the harvest festival on nerian-6 has come and gone.
it's a shame; she would have wanted to dance with him there.)
soon enough, gamora feels comfortable returning to training with him, though she takes it at a slower pace than where they left off before the gunshot. he needs to build strength again, after all, so gamora pushes him, but not near the same level, not with the kind of intensity they'd developed (because peter had improved greatly during the time they'd been working together). she's patient with him when he falters where he might have performed something flawlessly before, when she catches him with a move that he used to be able to duck. but instead of admonishing him, she just makes him do it over and over and over.
because she knows he'll get it again.
as weeks push into months, it eventually becomes clear that peter's bouncing back at full force. they're all still tentative with him, to some degree, but that can only go on so long before not only are they tired of the kid gloves, but peter absolutely won't put up with it anymore.
which, much to the delight of certain members of the team, means they can go back to the enjoyable jobs.
(however, rocket seems thoroughly put out when the first job they take will clearly not require bombs.)
the job itself doesn't end up calling for the more brash, guns-blazing style they might otherwise employ. in fact, it only calls for an appearance to be made by the guardians of the galaxy for a function thrown by the nova corps in a more tenuous outreach effort with the kree. things haven't quite leveled out between the two governments, and the attack in the middle of a far-off marketplace wasn't the only threat the nova corps had been picking up against the guardians — the team has just managed to stay out of the way enough to avoid another run-in with the small group of ronan devotees.
but they're still out there, the team is informed. just as zealous as ever, with the rallying cry of ronan's supposed martyrdom to band them together against the xandarians, the nova corps, and, of course, the guardians of the galaxy.
the gala itself isn't initially intended to be work for the guardians, but impossibly soon after its organization and announcement, the intel about kree activity begins to pour in.
bombs, assassinations, the entire gamut of violence — it all ends up directed towards the xandarian-kree party, and the nova corps finally decides to call in the guardians.
the team makes for good targets, but they're also capable enough that catching more of these fanatics should be easy. nova prime has faith in them, at least, though gamora is already dreading the requirements of this particular assignment.
a decadent gala means decadent attire.
and...general party-going behavior.
and socializing.
(none of these are gamora's favorite things. absolutely none of them.)
but any hesitation about accepting lay with peter's condition, and he's well enough that even that doesn't prove to be a valid excuse. so, perfectly aware of what undertaking this will mean, the guardians agree to make an appearance at the party. or rather, peter and gamora will be at the party proper, while rocket, groot, and drax will be in the background, keeping their eyes peeled for the kree toublemakers.
and that still means gamora will be wearing a dress.
the night itself finally arrives, and gamora is wearing the aforementioned dress (that peter helped her pick, because she was at least willing to admit she was in over her head as far as appropriate clothing choices). black and sleek with an open back and exposed sides, playing off of the intense green of her skin as it drew up the front of her torso to secure behind her neck. her hair is only half-pinned, the rest falling in loose curls around her shoulders, with small, silver beads woven in among the black and magenta.
it's flattering (but impractical, gamora inevitably insists; her knives are less accessible, even if the slit up the fabric of the right side makes it relatively easy to reach the dagger strapped to her thigh). she's not pleased by the time she and peter enter the party, but she's at least calm about it.
...relatively speaking, anyway.
(she's not threatening anyone with knives or throwing people to the ground, so that counts in the context of "calm.")
her arm is hooked in peter's as they approach, and they're immediately let through the small throng of people flashing their invitations. the guardians hardly need an introduction, after all, so they aren't even stopped at the door. ]
Are you sure you are prepared for this?
[ she glances at him out of the corner of her eye, though her tone and expression keep the note of concern hidden away. ]
gently christens this pristine post
it hadn't— looked good, and when peter was released, the doctor wanted to emphasize exactly how close of a call it had been.
gamora is well aware of that.
(kneeling in that renovated shopfront, peter in her arms, his breathing short and shallow, his body going limp—)
but what matters is that peter is going to recover, and after only a few days stuck in that bed, he's handed over to the guardians so they can put a fair measure of distance between themselves and that previously-pleasant planet. gamora isn't sorry to see it go.
the guardians do very little work for a while, in deference to peter's injury — or they at least take work that doesn't require peter's skills or an extra set of hands. they still have to eat, after all, but peter can't do much by comparison, and even if there may be the occasional griping (usually from rocket), they all know that peter's recovery is their top priority. none of them want to see a repeat, just because they got involved in something too strenuous too quickly.
gamora doesn't bring up the moments that she'd sat with peter, hiding from the kree. it scares her, if she's honest, and it's not entirely due to the fact that peter had nearly died (though that is an incredibly large part of it). what really frightens her is how badly that situation had shaken her, how close she had been to peter, and how much she'd been genuinely distressed over how near he'd come to an early death.
it's because he's her friend, she tells herself.
(her best friend.)
it's because this strange, cobbled-together little family has become something meaningful to her.
(peter has become meaningful to her.)
but to lose her composure so badly...well, it's not a common or regular occurrence.
and she isn't sure what to make of it.
weeks roll by, and gamora is still watching peter's recovery carefully. he's improving, and that's a relief on its own.
(but at some point, she realizes that the harvest festival on nerian-6 has come and gone.
it's a shame; she would have wanted to dance with him there.)
soon enough, gamora feels comfortable returning to training with him, though she takes it at a slower pace than where they left off before the gunshot. he needs to build strength again, after all, so gamora pushes him, but not near the same level, not with the kind of intensity they'd developed (because peter had improved greatly during the time they'd been working together). she's patient with him when he falters where he might have performed something flawlessly before, when she catches him with a move that he used to be able to duck. but instead of admonishing him, she just makes him do it over and over and over.
because she knows he'll get it again.
as weeks push into months, it eventually becomes clear that peter's bouncing back at full force. they're all still tentative with him, to some degree, but that can only go on so long before not only are they tired of the kid gloves, but peter absolutely won't put up with it anymore.
which, much to the delight of certain members of the team, means they can go back to the enjoyable jobs.
(however, rocket seems thoroughly put out when the first job they take will clearly not require bombs.)
the job itself doesn't end up calling for the more brash, guns-blazing style they might otherwise employ. in fact, it only calls for an appearance to be made by the guardians of the galaxy for a function thrown by the nova corps in a more tenuous outreach effort with the kree. things haven't quite leveled out between the two governments, and the attack in the middle of a far-off marketplace wasn't the only threat the nova corps had been picking up against the guardians — the team has just managed to stay out of the way enough to avoid another run-in with the small group of ronan devotees.
but they're still out there, the team is informed. just as zealous as ever, with the rallying cry of ronan's supposed martyrdom to band them together against the xandarians, the nova corps, and, of course, the guardians of the galaxy.
the gala itself isn't initially intended to be work for the guardians, but impossibly soon after its organization and announcement, the intel about kree activity begins to pour in.
bombs, assassinations, the entire gamut of violence — it all ends up directed towards the xandarian-kree party, and the nova corps finally decides to call in the guardians.
the team makes for good targets, but they're also capable enough that catching more of these fanatics should be easy. nova prime has faith in them, at least, though gamora is already dreading the requirements of this particular assignment.
a decadent gala means decadent attire.
and...general party-going behavior.
and socializing.
(none of these are gamora's favorite things. absolutely none of them.)
but any hesitation about accepting lay with peter's condition, and he's well enough that even that doesn't prove to be a valid excuse. so, perfectly aware of what undertaking this will mean, the guardians agree to make an appearance at the party. or rather, peter and gamora will be at the party proper, while rocket, groot, and drax will be in the background, keeping their eyes peeled for the kree toublemakers.
and that still means gamora will be wearing a dress.
the night itself finally arrives, and gamora is wearing the aforementioned dress (that peter helped her pick, because she was at least willing to admit she was in over her head as far as appropriate clothing choices). black and sleek with an open back and exposed sides, playing off of the intense green of her skin as it drew up the front of her torso to secure behind her neck. her hair is only half-pinned, the rest falling in loose curls around her shoulders, with small, silver beads woven in among the black and magenta.
it's flattering (but impractical, gamora inevitably insists; her knives are less accessible, even if the slit up the fabric of the right side makes it relatively easy to reach the dagger strapped to her thigh). she's not pleased by the time she and peter enter the party, but she's at least calm about it.
...relatively speaking, anyway.
(she's not threatening anyone with knives or throwing people to the ground, so that counts in the context of "calm.")
her arm is hooked in peter's as they approach, and they're immediately let through the small throng of people flashing their invitations. the guardians hardly need an introduction, after all, so they aren't even stopped at the door. ]
Are you sure you are prepared for this?
[ she glances at him out of the corner of her eye, though her tone and expression keep the note of concern hidden away. ]