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Quill and Rocket landed the ship on a random planet that looked similar to Earth but with no visible population, it just seemed like a huge forest. The Guardians and you had been running from the Ravagers for about two weeks and you felt like you hadn’t had a proper meal in years.Outside of the ship you had made like a small camp, lying down a few mattresses in the grass and hanging the clothes you had washed in a nearby river.“I’m starving” you complained while sitting next to Nebula who was cleaning her favourite weapon.“All of us are. Besides it’s only 4pm, you can wait until tonight” she answered in her usual monotone voice.“Hey, let me remind you I left my lunch to Rocket because I lost a bet against him!”“Not my fault you were stupid enough to challenge Rocket”. She said in a sarcastic stone. To her own surprise she was usually very relaxed around you, relaxed enough to make some jokes here and there.You got up and directed yourself towards the open ship to maybe try and get a snack.“Y/n where do you think you’re going young lady?” Peter’s voice caught you off guard“Do we still have some of that yaro root, I’m starving”“No way y/n, there’s only one left and I saved it for me” Gamora said from behind.“But-”“Touch it and you’ll be in serious trouble!”You faked an annoyed sigh as you walked further inside the Milano.“Y/n, I said no!” Peter yelled with an attempted authority.“relaaaax Pet’, I’m not gonna take it, I’m just gonna grab my sketchbook so I have something to occupy my brain” you explained raising both your hands as a sign of innocence.“Alright…” he walked toward the gate of the ship “Nebula! Get up, it’s your turn to clean the Milano!” he yelled into the distance before walking out.You then took your chance while the place was empty to sneak the yaro root inside your jacket, after which you made your way outside so you could hide behind some trees and eat it. On you way out you walked past Gamora who was on her way inside, so you fastened your steps knowing she might notice the missing fruit. Your eyes fixed on the ground, you bumped into Nebula who was on her way to the the chore Peter had requested.“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” she screamed before taking a second to analyse your posture, seeing the suspicious expression on your face and the way your arms were crossed in front of your chest.“What are you hidi-” she started questionning before being cut off.“Y/N GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE” Gamora’s voice echoed from the ship.“Shit!!”You looked behind her back to see that Gamora, Peter AND Drax were sprinting towards you.You took off towards the forest as fast as you could and lucky for you, running fast was something you were actually good at.“NEBULA, HELP US GET HER! SHE TOOK THE LAST YARO ROOT!”Nebula loaded her gun and started her own sprint in your direction except that she was much closer from you than the others.“CAN’T OUTRUN ME, Y/N.” you heard her threat as your legs kept moving as fast as they could through the trees.You could hear them from afar and knew that they were on your left so you made a sharp turn to the right, hurtling down the slope at full speed until something leaped from between the trees, tackling you to the ground; except that the ground was a slope, so the two of you just rolled down, your opponent holding you tight, until you reached a flatter ground right before the river. Your attacker lost no time to recover as they straddled you to keep you from running away.Opening your eyes, you found out it was Nebula.“Are you kidding me! Were you trying to give me a heart attack or something?? How did you even catch up that fast??” you complained.“I knew you were gonna turn right so I took a shortcut. You’re too predictable y/n” she said, her legs still on each side of your waist.“...You know, if you help me we can split the root in half. Besides you won’t have to do your chores, just saying…” you told her with a smirk. She waited a second, contemplating her answer, until the voices of the other guardians calling your name echoed again.“I know a place where we can hide” she said before standing up and helping you get off the ground, grabbing your hand to lead you while running. Now the only thing that could be heard was you both laughing as you ran away hand in hand
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Her voice sounding like a melody in your ears, your legs tangled, you could feel your whole body sweating and vibrating with pleasure when suddenly… your eyes opened as quickly as lighting, your head going left to right to take in your surroundings and realize you were in bed, but alone. Pressing your palm to your eyes with shame, you decided to go put something on and wash your face to chase this dream out of your head.A few minutes later, you walked to the main quarter of the Milano where your teammates were sitting around the table, each of them keeping their mind busy with their own activities, except for Nebula who was sitting in a corner; far enough so she didn’t have to deal with anyone but close enough so she could here and see everything while still looking uninterested. Your dream wasn’t a surprise to you because it was an erotic one, but because it was about her. She barely talked to anyone since she joined the Guardians and spent most of her time away from people, so you had had little to no interaction with her. But did you find her hot? Well, yeah. So it could actually make sense.“Had a sweet night today, y/n?” Rocket disturbed your train of thoughts as you walked in.“I… it was alright I guess?” you answered trying to not look suspicious even though his question was a bit odd.“Y/n, I don’t know if everyone on your planet does that, but you make weird noises when you sleep” Drax stated innocently.“Says the one who snores” you arched an eyebrow at himRocket put his hand, well his paw, in front of his mouth but you could still hear him giggling silently.“What are you laughing about you brainless rat?”“YOU WERE HAVING A SEX DREAM! HAHAHAAA” he finally burst out laughing.Your mouth fell open and your whole face turned a bright red.“I did not!”“You so did!” he almost fell out of his chair laughing.“You know y/n you shouldn’t be ashamed, you’re not the first person to have a dream about me, I don’t blame you” Peter said way too confidently.“Eww” you muttered, your face scrunching with disgust“You know Quill, not everything is about you… It could have been someone else…” Kraglin said from the pilot seat, his voice not so confident as always.“I think if it was any of you boys she would have sounded more disgusted that pleasured” Gamora interrupted the debate“Gamora is right; if it was about one of us, it wouldn’t be any of you. You aren’t muscular warriors like me. I’m the only one charismatic enough to be in her dreams” Drax kept going.Then the debate started again with all of them practically yelling at each other; you rolled your eyes hopelessly and turned to Nebula who was still sitting alone in her corner, pretending not to care while cleaning her boots but you could tell she was still listening. You turned to the dispute again, all the screaming and debating starting to make your head turn like a carousel.“It was clearly none of you idiots!”“Oh, like it could be about you? You’re a fucking raccoon!”“DON’T CALL ME A RACCOON!”“Will you two shut up and admit the fact that it was about me?”“For God’s sake STOP IT!!” you snapped “You know what, you brainless pricks, it wasn’t even about any of you, it was about Nebula” You declared raising your arms with a smirk, proud of shattering their dreams. From the corner of your eyes, you saw Nebula’s head jolting towards the conversation with an expression you had never seen on her face and you could have sworn that if she wasn’t so blue you could have seen a bright blush on her cheeks.The boys had their mouth wide open and their bodies frozen while Gamora was smiling with satisfaction even though she was a bit shocked herself. They then all started looking at Nebula who now had her eyes glued to the ground.“Really? Smurfette over us?” Peter whispered“Any day” you said walking away, content with yourself. But as you walked to your quarters you felt a bit bad for Nebula, thinking you had embarrassed her in public.So later in the day you tiptoed to her quarters, knocking on the open door. She just raised her head with her usual grave expression, saying nothing but waiting for what you had to say.“Hey, uhm…. Am I bothering you?” you asked leaning on the doorway.“Depends on what you wanna ask” she finally spoke“I just felt like the scene that I made, well that the boys made, earlier could have made you uncomfortable so I wanted to apologize for that and make sure you weren’t… mad at me or something” you lowered your gaze, slightly ashamed“Why would I be mad over something you can’t control…” you smiled slightly relieved. “… it’s not like I would care anyway.”“Oh really? Cause I’m pretty sure I saw you get all flustered out there.” You answered crossing your arms, knowing all too well that “I don’t care” denial phase.“I really don’t”You raised an eyebrow at her, wanting to make her admit it.She sighed. “If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you”.“That’s more like it.” You smiled.
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No matter how badly you hated it, everyone needed to wear one of those ugly suffocating suit for the mission, something to do with the atmosphere on this planet. You followed the team with a grumpy look on your face and everyone picked a suit, except you were the last to pick and ended up with the (least favourite colour) suit.“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me”Rocket let out a loud laugh and you turned to your teammates“Mantis come on switch with me”She shyly shook her head from left to right, so you turned to Nebula.“Switch with me?”“Y/n I’m twice your size”“Hey I’m not that small!!” you defended while she was standing there, towering you.“Come on, it’s just for one mission” she guided you towards the others with a hand on your back, barely touching you but it still relaxed you a bit.You all went inside a sort of locker room to change, everyone having their own hidden corner to change. You just sat there, sighing and looking at the suit you had folded on the bench in front of you. You were too tired for another mission. Finally deciding to take things in hand, you stood up and starting walking your way towards the suit to put it on when Nebula erupted from the side, arms crossed on her chest.“Y/n I.. I need a hand, do you mind?” she turned around and you noticed the zipper was too low on the back for her to reach.“Oh.. sure” You took a step towards her and smoothly zipped it up, struggling a bit since it kept getting stuck but you eventually managed to pull it all the way up.“All done” You said patting her shoulder softly.She turned to face you, muttering a ‘Thank you’ with her gaze lowered.She then looked up at your own suit behind you.“Do you need help too?”“Naaah don’t worry I got this” you waved her off, trying to play it cool.“Fine, I won’t be very far if you need me” she said as she turned around to leave. 5 or maybe even 10 minutes later, there you were, twisting your arms around trying to zip up the damn suit but way too stubborn to ask for help. Your competitive spirit making you feel like it need to be done on your own.“GUARDIANS, EVERYONE OUTSIDE!” Peter’s voice called from across the corridor, ready to start the mission. Which made you even more annoyed since you were far from ready.“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT” you silently cursed trying to get the damn zipper.“So, you still go it?” Nebula’s voice made you jump again, reminding you of what you told her confidently earlier.“Aren’t you supposed to be outside?”“Well as I made my way there I heard your cries for help so I thought I’d come and save you” she said jockingly with a smug smirk on her face.“You can get rid of the smile, I won’t tolerate any mockery.” You frowned at her.She made her way to you but this time with what felt like was a more loving smile.You turned you back to her and she pulled the zipper up, patting your shoulder as you had done earlier.“All done”“Thank you…” you said turning to face her. There was a brief silence.“You know, you’re cute when you’re angry” She said with still a bit of irony in her voice;“Hey, I’m not cut-..” you posed and a happy smile broke on your face at the compliment “Yeah I am cute… But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be scared!” You said regaining your serious expression and pointing your finger at her, which made a low laugh escape from her throat.With both hands on your shoulders she spun you around to face the exit and gave you a slight push.“Just keep walking” she ordered, still laughing, and you couldn’t stay mad when she did because those occasions were so rare and you felt special knowing you were pretty much the only one able to make her produce that lovely sound.
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After another successful mission, the whole team decided they would have fun for a bit by throwing a little party back on Knowhere. Peter’s music was blasting through the speakers and it seemed that everyone was having the time of their life. One drink leading to another, before you knew you were dancing on tables while screaming the lyrics and being highly encouraged by Drax and Rocket.Nebula, on the other hand, stayed in a corner by herself, watching from afar. She couldn’t really get drunk and wasn’t in the mood for partying anyway. But she still stayed, somehow not being able to take her eyes off you and how effortlessly and swiftly your body moved to the rhythm.“See something you like?” Rocket’s voice startled her so bad that she now had her hand on one of her blasters. She stared at him, not expecting to see him behind her given that last time she saw him he was right next to you. Damn, that rat was fast. She regained her composure.“I don’t know what you’re talking about”. She said coldly, looking away.“You know for a trained assassin I thought you’d be better at lying, blueberry.”“Leave me alone, you stupid fox”“If don’t you tell her, I will”“I have nothing to tell to anyone!” She was screaming now.“Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that. Just saying, we already lost 5 years of our lives, don’t waste more of it waiting for someone braver than you to make a move before you.” he put a hand on her shoulder before leaving her too her thoughts. She shook her head, trying to convince herself that he was wrong and that she didn’t give a shit. But as she realized her eyes were on you again she let out a frustrated grunt. She started turning around to go back to her own quarters, away from people, until she noticed a man walking towards you.-Talking to Kraglin in the middle of the crowd, you turned around and let out a surprised yelp as you almost bumped into a man.“Hey there, beautiful”“Uhm, excuse me, I was about to go talk to my friend Mantis over there” you pointed behind him where Mantis and Drax were sitting.As you started walking past him, he extended his arm to block your path.“Hey no need to be in a hurry, how about I get you a drink?”“Okay first, eww” you took a step back, hating physical contact especially with strangers, “and second of all, I think I had enough to drink thank you” you muttered slightly staggering because of the alcohol in your blood.“Come on, don’t be a bitch!” he started getting angry and getting closer to you except that, being in a crowd and a bit drunk, you couldn’t really defend yourself and therefore started getting a bit scared.He continued: “let one dr-”“Didn’t you hear what she just told you? No keep moving or I’ll turn you into one of Drax’s training toys” Nebula jolted between you and the man, raising a blaster right between his eyes.Terrified, both because of the threat and because he had recognized the daughter of Thanos, he quickly turned around and pushed his way through the crowd, running away.Nebula scarcely had the time to turn to face you that you threw your arms around her.“Thank you, my fav meanie”She hesitantly hugged you back, frozen from the sudden contact. But you still reeked of alcohol and clearly didn’t have your thoughts straight.“I’ll take you back to your room, come” she held out her hand.“Nooo, let’s stay a bit and dance” you took both of her hands and started moving them around as if to dance.“Y/n, you’re drunk”“And you’re blue”She rolled her eyes but deep down found your current state very funny.“I’m not giving you a choice, Y/N. Besides given the dark circles under your eyes I think your body wouldn’t mind a few hour of sleep”“Hey, I don’t have dark circles” you muttered, pouting. “...fine I’m coming”She put her hand and your lower back but after taking a few steps she realized you weren’t even able to walk straight and that it would take forever to get you to your room.“Fine, I don’t have time for that” she said as she started lowering down.“What, I’m walking norm- WOW” you yelled as her arms lifted you, carrying you bridal style. You put an arm around her neck for hold on, but, exhausted, your head was starting to feel heavy so as you closed your eyes, you let it fall in the crook of her neck.As she made her way through the door leading outside, she walked past Rocket who gave her a very satisfied smile.“Keep your witty comments to yourself, rat”“I can smell the love from here, it’s disgusting” he laughed as she just kept going, ignoring him.Finally arriving to your room, she opened the door with her elbow and lowered you on the bed“Neb, you’re my favourite, you know…” you mumbled, half asleep. Her eyes widened.“Your favourite what?”“Just in general… across all categories…”A smile broke on her face. “Rocket would slap you if he heard you right now” she joked, referring to the close friendship you had developed with the raccoon.“Oh well he’ll get over it, he’s already Groot’s favourite anyway..”She made that same low laugh again, then got up“Well… I’ll let you sleep then.” she said standing next to you awkwardly. But as she started leaving you grabbed her hand which made her turn around quickly as a reflex.“No, please, stay just a while” you whined.“You need to rest”“But I don’t want to stay here alone”She stood in place, not really knowing what to do.“Please Neb.. It’s either this or I’m going back with the others”.At the sound of the nickname, she found herself changing her mind. You were the only one to call her that and the only one she would allow to use it.She let out a sigh. “Alright, but just for this once.”She grabbed one of the extra blankets on your bed and threw it one the sofa on the other side of the room.“No!” you whined again.“uugh, what is it this time?”“Not there”She looked at you puzzled, until you moved to make some room next to you and patted the empty space with your hand.She was no longer puzzled but entirely frozen on the spot. No one had ever asked this kind of contact from her.“You.. want me to.. lay down there?”“Well yeah, dummy.”She walked over to the bed so hesitantly it almost looked mechanical. She sat slowly next to you, arms crossed in front of her chest and not daring to take too much space.Half asleep, you threw one arm across her and snuggled up against her, resting your head on her chest. Error 404, Nebula stopped functioning. The wires in her head went so crazy she almost feared they were gonna explode. Instinctively, she put a hand on top of your head protectively. But she knew she couldn’t stay here eternally.“How long to you want me to stay?” she asked in her usual flat tone.“Stay forever…” you mumbled before drifting off to sleep.She would tell you eventually, she thought. When she’s ready.
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Your eyes starting opening and you rapidly closed them as the rays of the morning sun hit your face through the window. With a frustrated whine, you started rainsing your arms to stretch them but quickly realized it was impossible, as one of them was stuck. Turning your eyes to see what the issue seemed to be, you ended up face to face with the back of a blue head and all your frustration disappeared. With a smile, you bent done to leave a kiss there.“Hmm…”“Morning, Smurfette”“You just woke up and you already have a death wish?” she suddenly woke up at the surname that Quill had used way too many times.She turned around in order to face you, her eyelids still heavy.“What time is it?”“Why, is there anywhere else you’d rather be?”“Well yes, I actually needed to help-” You covered her mouth with your hand.“It’s like 8am and you’re already talking about work, I’m not having it Neb”She slapped your hand away as she rolled her eyes.Smoothly removing the bed sheet from you only, you slowly stood up until she pinned you down swiftly with one arm.“Stay”You laughed “What, why?”“Things are better when you’re here”“What things?”“Me.” she said with her monotone voice as if it was the most obvious and normal thing in the world but coming from her, you were quite dumbfounded. You rested a reassuring hand on her cheek.“I’m just gonna make some breakfast for us, I’ll be back before you know”“Breakfast? Am I gonna be sick again?”“IT HAPPENED ONCE NEBULA” you stood up pointing your finger at her. “BESIDES IT WAS BECAUSE DRAX HAD SWITCHED THE INGREDIENTS. I’M AN AMAZING COOK AND YOU KNOW IT!”She just stood there, leaning on her elbow with an amused smile.“Oh don’t give me that smile, I can’t be mad at you when you give me that smile” you pleaded“You can’t stay mad at me with or without the smile, Y/N”. This made you giggle, because she was right.Getting out of bed, you realized you were still in your underwear (not like you needed clothes, you had something to keep you warm at night), so you looked around for what you were wearing the night before and after putting on your pair of comfy shorts, you started looking for your shirt which was nowhere to be found. The other guardians were away on a mission but you still didn’t feel comfortable enough to just walk around the place half naked. You knelt to the ground to look under the bed, then under the sheets, nothing.“Aaaargh” you grunted out of frustration“Here” Nebula said handing you here own shirt.“You sure you don’t mind?” you knew this kind of gestures wasn’t easy to do for her given that she never really had loved ones to share stuff with.“I don’t.”Taking the shirt in your hand and putting it on, you made your way to the door when you noticed her eyes following your figure.“What?”“It makes you look like your mine. It’s a very satisfying feeling.”“Yeaaah don’t push it” you joked as you walked through the door step. - Stirring the pancake paste you were making while singing along to the music playing in the background, you paused when you heard a loud thud.“Neb?” There was a complete silence for a second.“Heyyy, how’s my favourite idiot?” Peter rushed in the room carrying all the bags he had taken on the mission.“I don’t know, why don’t you ask Drax? you joked“I don’t really like the sarcastic tone” said Drax, appearing behind Peter as he entered.“Wait, how come you guys are back so early?”“We found the bad guys faster than we thought and they were pretty easy to take down, and also because I’m an awesome team leader and came up with a great plan” Quill explained proudly“Yeah, you mean the plan that you stole from me?” Rocket nudged him as he walked over the fridge to get himself a drink.“...Anyway, did you and Nebula manage to repair the motor of that ship as we asked you?” Peter asked.“Took us two days, but it’s like new”“Speaking of Nebula, why are you wearing her shirt?” Gamora questioned, putting down her own bags.A rush of fear went through your whole body as you just stood there, like a statue.“...What?” was all you could get out of your mouth.“That shirt, that’s Nebula’s. How come she’s letting you wear it?”“Uuuh well I-” you literally started sweating trying to find an excuse.“She spilled coffee on hers so she asked to borrow mine while waiting for hers to dry.” Nebula’s voice echoed from behind you as you let out a relieved sigh.“Oh, okay” Gamora said simply.You gave her a shy smile before turning to walk away, Nebula following you. Once you both were out of sight she pulled you close as she put her arm around your shoulders, still walking.“What would you do without me saving your ass all the time?”“I had everything under control”“Sure, keep telling yourself that” she said as she left a small kiss on the tip of your nose, causing you to give her a fake frown.-“Sooo when are gonna tell them that we know?” Rocket asked Gamora while sipping on his drink.“To be honest I kinda thought they would figure it out when we left them both here alone while we went on the mission” Gamora answered.“I know right? Ordering them to repair a ship we’re not even going to use, I can’t believe they fell for it” Rocket laughed to himself.“Let’s let them live in their little fantasy world for a while, shall we? Since they’ve been secretly dating Nebula has finally stopped yelling at me all the time and Y/N doesn’t stay bored and depressed in her room all day” Quill said.“I gotta agree with the homeless looking Terran for once” Rocket muttered, hiding the fact that he was genuinely proud to see both of his friends happy.
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Swinging your legs like a child as you were sitting, you were trying to explain to Nebula the function of a kettle. You laughed as she gave you this “this is the most absurd shit I’ve heard of my entire life” look. You two were sitting in the small garden behind the Avengers compound, it was a warm late spring evening and since the guardians and you had arrived to work with “Earth’s mightiest heroes” for a few days, Nebula had kept asking question about what she called your “weird Terran habits”. So you would go on walks together or you would show her around the city when you had a bit of free time (even though you had to make her wear a hat and sunglasses so she wouldn’t catch too much attention) and you were glad to explain everything to her.“And what’s this?” She asked pointing to the small patches of roses and tulips.“Flowers?”“Yes. Today I saw a man giving some to someone, but they weren’t sticking out of the ground”“Oh, well you have to cut them and you make a bouquet”“What for?”“You can give them as a gesture of politeness or to people you like”“But how is it useful?” she gave you the same look as earlier.“Well there’s not much use to it, it can be to decorate or just symbolic. Like I said, give them to people you love.”“Like friends?”“Sometimes, but mostly for people you love romantically. Especially red roses.”There was a small silence during which she processed the new information.“Do you like them?” she asked looking at you with her expressionless voice, it was always so hard to figure out what she was thinking.“Roses?”“Yes.”“They’re pretty, but I think they’re a bit cliché. I love tulips, though.” You answered giving her a warm smile.“Hm.” She paused. “..Is there any other “flower” you like?”You took a minute to think about your answer. “Well I like lilies quite a lot. And they smell pretty good too. But, wait, you’re telling me that you, who has traveled across half this universe, have never seen flowers?”“I’ve seen plants. And things similar to them. But none looked like this”-“Urgh, what are those two idiots even talking about for them to stay there so long?” Rocket said, watching you from a higher window inside the compound.“I think it’s cute. Even heroes deserve some time off” Natasha answered.“Well, that’s because you’ve never seen them give those doe eyes looks to each other on the ship or during diner. It’s disgusting.”Nat just let out a laugh as they both went on their way, knowing there was no way of changing the Raccoon’s mind.-The following morning, you helped bring all the luggage back to the ship as it was the guardians’ last day on Terra. You would be taking off in less than 20 min so you started hugging the Avengers goodbye before making sure everything was ready. Seeing Mantis, Peter and Rocket already at the top of the Milano’s stairs, you stayed at the bottom.“Has anyone seen Nebula?” you asked.“I was looking for her, I thought she was with you.” Drax answered as he arrived and made his way to the ship too.“Why would she be with me?”“You know y/n, I’m slightly hurt that you noticed Nebula wasn’t here but not me.” he said, ignoring your question, making you roll your eyes.“It’s just… I haven’t seen her since yesterday, it’s odd..” Usually you two would go on walks to see the sun rise in the early morning, as you were the only two who had trouble sleeping.“Come one y/n, let’s wait for her inside. I bet your girlfriend will be here any minute.”“She’s not my girlfriend, you filthy trash panda…” you muttered while walking to the Milano with your head down. Before putting a foot on the first step you noticed a funny look on Peter’s face who was looking right behind you.“What?-” You questioned turning around to see what caught his attention and ended up face to face with Nebula. You raised a hand to your chest.“Oh god, Neb, don’t scare me like that!” You exclaimed, not having heard her footsteps. “Where were you anyway?!” You yelled, remembering you had been looking for her all morning. But as she said nothing, you looked down and noticed a gorgeous bouquet of tulips and lilies between you two.“What-”“You said you didn’t like roses.”“How- where did you buy them?” the questions came flooding your thoughts as you just stood there, looking at her in awe.“I.. Uhm… Somewhere in the city” She said the first lie that came through her mind as she hadn’t exactly bought them but had threatened the first florist she found to make her a bouquet exactly like she thought you’d like.“...Why?” you asked softly as you slowly took the flowers from her hands, admiring them and then meeting her eyes.“I was told you give them to people you like.” she said in her low voice, her eyes now looking at the ground. It was unusual seeing her shy, especially for the rest of the guardians who were watching, still waiting in the ship.“Oooh Neb..” without a thought you threw your arms around her in a tight hug. “Thank you, they’re amazing. You’re amazing”.She hesitantly hugged you back, and tightened her embrace as she relaxed a bit, a faint smile spreading on her face. Smile that you couldn’t see but that your teammates definitely did.“So, not your girlfriend, right y/n?” Rocket yelled from the Milano trying to embarrass you. You groaned.“Do you want me to go beat him up?” Nebula asked in your ear, still hugging you.“That would be even better than flowers…” You joked with a fake tone of despair.
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Arriving at the restaurant, you waited for the waiter to come and get you to your table. Nebula and you had been sent on a week long mission on a planet quite similar to Knowhere but that you had never heard about. Your job was to stay undercover until you found this secret group of traffickers who had been running away from the Nova Corps, which was tricky because they were themselves undercover and very good at their job. You, were doing it for the units Xandar had promised in exchange, of course. Being undercover meant you had to act like normal people, so Nebula and you had agreed to go out to eat this evening, which would also allow you to catch a short break. You had tried to convince her to wear something fancy for tonight but there was no one as stubborn as her (except you, perhaps). So she just put on a fancier version of her usual outfit and you chose a black dress, pretty enough for a restaurant but not too pretty enough to get noticed. (Although it looked good enough for Nebula to look you up and down when you walked out of the bedroom).Finally, the waiter showed up and, being better at social interactions, you decided it was better for you to speak.“Good evening, ma’am”“Hi, we wanted to see if you had any tables available?” you asked with the warmest smile.“Will it be just for the two of you or are more people going to join?”“No it’s just me and my wife.” you said intertwining your arm with hers as she looked at you wide-eyed.“This way, please.” the man said holding out his arm.“Why did you say I was your wife?” she asked not too loud so that the waiter wouldn’t hear as you walked to the table.“I couldn’t say you were family because I’m not blue and I couldn’t say you were my friend because he would never have bought it!”“Why wouldn’t he buy it?!” she whisper-yelled at you.“With that mean look you gave him he probably would have wondered how anyone could be friend with you!”“I didn’t like how he looked at you. Besides, how is it more believable for me to be your wife? Why would you marry someone who looks mean?”“Well you look mean but you’re still hot”.She rolled her eyes.“...besides, waiters tend to not invade your privacy when they think you’re on a date. And we’re supposed to be undercover, remember?” you continued.“If you say out loud we’re undercover it kind of defies the whole concept”“I’m gonna ask for divorce if you keep giving me those life lessons”“Shut up and sit down, y/n” she said, exasperated by your jokes. The whole dinner was actually such a fun time; you had been having great conversations and a great bonding time (except when you tried to take one of her fries. She definitely didn’t let that slide). You rubbed your stomach, this meal being the best meal you had had in months.“Woah, I would do anything for dessert right now”“With all the food you inhaled? How can you even eat that much?”“Hey! I didn’t even eat that much! And it’s not my fault I’m always hungry, I have a faster metabolism because of my powers so I need to eat more”. And for once you weren’t even lying, having superhuman speed was great except that your body needed more energy to function.“I guess that’s a fair explanation. But it’s not an option anyway, we don’t have enough units.”“How come??”“Rocket didn’t give me that much for the mission”“Rocket sucks! I’m gonna die starving because of him!”“Stop being a baby and suck it up, y/n! We’re not getting dessert!”“Fine!” You both sank into your chairs, arms crossed giving each other the death stare. Until a devilish grin spread across your face.“What.are.you.planning?” she enunciated each word in her low voice.“Waiter!” you called waving your hand at the man who was standing not far away.“Y/n! Stop that this instant!” she growled, both hands now on the table to lean towards you.But you just answered with a smug smile.“How can I help?” the smiling waiter asked once he was next to you. You gestured for him to lower his head and whispered something in his ear. Nebula just watched the whole interaction, not only having no clue what you were doing but also being a bit upset about you being physically so close to a stranger.“No problem Ma’am, I will be right back.” the man said before leaving.“What did you tell him?” she was giving you a cold stare.“Don’t worry, we won’t spend one more unit.” you answered with a mischievous grin.Not even five minutes later, the lights turned off. Nebula starting reaching for the blaster she had been hiding inside her jacket, until a group of waiters came out of the door that lead to the kitchen, one of them carrying a cake covered with candles and sparklers. As everyone started singing happy birthday, she looked at you confused and you just tried very hard to hold in your laugh. As he placed the cake in front of her, another man started placing a birthday hat on her head and she normally would have strangled him to death, but she stood still, too busy giving you the death stare.“Happy birthday, my darling!” you joked, loud enough so she could hear you among all the people singing.“You will pay for this.”“No, I told you, it’s for free!”“I didn’t mean for the cake.”You just laughed out loud at her serious expression. You loved making her mad.Not longer after, everything came back to normal as everyone went back to their previous activities.She pushed the cake in front of you, acting as she didn’t want it. Luckily there were two forks, so you took one and handed her the other one. She looked away, folding her arms.“You know you still have the birthday hat on your head right?” you smiled. As soon as you said that she reached for it and threw it away.“Come ooon, I know you want some” you said, still holding the fork. You waited a few seconds for her to break.“Ugh, fine.” she took it from your hand. “But if you tell anyone about this I will kill you with my bare hands.”“Promises, promises.” you grinned at her manners.You placed the cake in the middle, both of you having your own side to eat.“You know, if this was spaghetti we would kinda look like The Lady and the Tramp right now.” you said, your mouth stuffed with cake.“The what?”“It’s… nevermind, it’s a thing from Terra.”“...Well, I hope that in your little metaphor I’m not the tramp.”“Ugh, fine, you can be my Lady if you want” you said with fake annoyance. She rolled her eyes in response, but you didn’t miss the small smile that she didn’t manage to hide.
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Using the empty bottles that were lying on the table as microphones, Peter and you screamed the lyrics at each other. Occasionally when all of the guardians where together at the headquarters with nothing to do, Peter would play some music and sometimes you would just listen while reading, other times you would go full karaoke mode with your friends (well mostly Peter or Rocket and Mantis if they were in the mood; Gamora and Nebula would most likely roll their eyes and Drax would be falling asleep on the sofa).As the rhythm of the song was getting faster, you took Peter’s hand and you both just danced and jumped around, running out of breath. When the song came to an end, you let out a yelp as he tried to carry you the Dirty Dancing way, making you both lamentably collapsed to the ground in laughter. Rocket, Groot and Gamora laughed with you, Nebula was sitting on a chair with her cold stare and Drax was… snoring.All of you stopped for a second to catch your breath, and a few seconds after Peter got up to go change the song, your favourite slow song started playing. Can’t help falling in love by Elvis Presley.“Oh my god, I love this song!” you exclaimed as soon as you heard the very first notes. You turned to Nebula, extending your hand to Nebula.“Come on, dance with me!” you said with a smile. She looked up at you from her sitting position.“...I-” she looked around, embarrassed and avoiding your eyes. “I have to go.” and with that she got up and left the room. You couldn’t say you were surprised but a part of you expected her to just agree and come have fun with you. With your head down, you looked to the ground and then at your teammates. Peter and Gamora were dancing together Quill holding her close and even Mantis and Groot were dancing friendly, hand in hand with dumb smiles. As you watched them you couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy.“Nebula is not for you, y/n” Drax made you jump from behind.“Damn it, Drax!” you yelled at him for startling you. “what do you even mean?”“You are a dancer. Nebula is only going to make you sad, she is not a dancer.”“Didn’t you say the same about Gamora?” you raised an eyebrow, turning to the green woman who was still slow dancing.“I was wrong. But that won’t happen again. I am never wrong.” he said, towering you.“..Riiiight..” it was hard taking him seriously not matter how serious his face was. But he had a good point, Nebula could sometimes make you sad but given her background you at least considered yourself lucky that instead of giving you snarky comments like she did with the others she would either avoid you or try to make small talk when nobody else was around and she was feeling brave.“Come over here y/n, I’ll give you a dance. Everybody knows I’m a better dancer than Blueberry anyway.” Rocket said from his chair, trying to cheer you up a bit.“Nevermind…” you sat on the same chair Nebula was sitting in a few minutes ago. “I needed a break anyway.” you forcefully smiled to the raccoon to convince him you didn’t care that much. - A few days later, you were in the headquarters again, but alone this time. And that was good because you didn’t want to see anyone. Lying into a comfy chair, you curled into a ball, hugging your knees, your head facing the back so you really wouldn’t see anyone that might walk by.Your week had been awful. Your last mission had been an entire mess and you thought it was all your fault which only reminded you of everything that had ever gone wrong in your life.Your depressed thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the sound of footsteps coming towards you. You turned your head just a bit to find out who it was, and went back to your previous position when you saw Nebula standing next to you.“What are you doing?” she said with her usual angry tone.“Ignoring you.”“Rocket said you’ve been in here for hours.” she stated.“So?”“Have you even eaten anything?”You raised your head just to look at her briefly, thinking it might help you figure out why she was bothering you. She probably needed you for work or something. “What do you want?”She inspected your face. “Have you been crying?” she said, still towering you.Once again you dropped your head back on the chair to hide your face. “No” that was the least convincing “no” that ever came out of your mouth.She stood still for a second, not sure what to do.“Get up.”You sighed. “Leave me alone.”“Get. up.”“I said leave!”“There is no point in staying locked inside all day doing nothing.”“Why do you even care?”“It’s...weird seeing you like this.”“Then don’t look.”“Stand up, I won’t ask again.”“Why can’t you just let it go?!”“Because I always get what I want. My determination has never failed me” she answered, her tone flat as if it was a certain fact.“Well there’s a first time for everything. Now get outta here.”She grunted and made her way outside.Finally. Peace. You thought.Even though she didn’t know how to handle facing someone who was depressed, she was determined to find a way because, while it was hard to admit it, it was hard for her to see your usually funny and energetic self like that. Alone again, you allowed yourself to close your eyes and go back to your depressed lazy state. Until music started playing loudly through the speaker, making your eyes jolt open. You immediately recognized the song as it was the one that had been played in the very same place a few days earlier. Can’t help falling in love by Elvis Presley.“What the hell-” you muttered as you turned around, but instead of facing an empty room you were met by Nebula, extending a hand to you. Your face suddenly lit up and a big unsure smile spread across your face.“What are you doing?”“Come on, dance with me.” she said, borrowing the words you had used a few days ago.“But last time you said no?” you remained seated, wondering why the blue woman had suddenly decided she wanted a dance.“Hurry up before I change my mind.” her face stayed very serious but you could tell her lip was twitching a tiny bit.You grabbed her hand and lead her to the dance floor (which was actually the middle of the living room but in this moment it was all the same to you). The only time she had seen people slow dance was with Gamora and Quill, so she imitated their gesture by putting a hand on your shoulder and the other on your waist. As you knew how to dance, you took the lead and started moving in sync with the music.“Why are you doing this?” you looked her in the eyes, asking sincerely.“ I told you, I always get what I want” she didn’t move her eyes from yours.“Is that the only reason?” you asked, feeling bold.“The only one I will say out loud” she said before making you spin like a professional waltz dancer. You knew she had probably never danced before but as she started taking the lead herself, moving her feet swiftly, it was obvious to you that she was a natural.“You know, Drax said you weren’t a dancer.”“I’m not.”“After this, I would have to disagree. You’re good at this, it’s a shame no one ever knew about your hidden dancing skills.” you joked.“If you tell anyone I’ll have you dead” she meant it as a threat but she was so lost in the moment that it came out way softer that she intended.You spent the rest of the song in silence and as it came to an end, you decided to rest your head against her shoulder as she kept swaying to the song.“Thank you, Neb”Not knowing how to answer, she let her body language talk and rested your head on top of yours.
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Standing up painfully from your bed to pull out another tissue from the box, you blew your nose for what was probably the fifth time in the last 10 minutes. Your head was aching, your throat so irritated you sounded like a sixty yeasr old man who had had too much to smoke and your fever had you feeling like you were boiling inside. So there you were, barely standing in the middle of your room, your whole body hurting as you blew with all your might your stuffed nose. Suddenly, the door burst open which probably would have made you jump if you weren’t in such a weak state.“CAN YOU STOP MAKING THIS NOISE? I’M TRYING TO WORK!” the blue woman yelled, her hand still on the knob. You were so tired your barely looked at her.“I’m sick, you asshole..” you said with a broken voice as you wiped your nose with the back of your hand. You then thought that being part cyborg, she wouldn't understand the concept of having to blow your nose. She didn’t reply and stood still, taking a second to take in your posture. You didn’t have enough energy to try and figure out what she was thinking. Before you knew it, she strode your way and without any warning, quickly picked you up, carrying you like a sack of potatoes. You hit her back repeatedly with your small fists.“PUT ME DOWN!” you whined. She didn’t bother answering you. As she arrived to your bed, she dropped you on it.“What are you doin-” you protested but were cut off by her hand touching your forehead.“You’re burning.” she stated.“Yeah no shit, Sherlock!”Not moving her hand, she stopped her diagnosis to give you a side eye.“Sorry, Terran joke…” you pouted.She moved her hand to the side of your neck to check your heartbeat but you slapped her hand away. You hated being sick and, worse than that, you hated admitting you were sick.“Have you taken your medicine?” she asked so seriously you felt like you were at the doctor’s.“I don’t need any.”She sighed, standing up and making her way to the door, disappearing as she turned right into the corridor.Sighing, you closed your eyes being finally able to rest, to open them wide at the sound of the footsteps coming back in side your room.You brutally turned your head towards the door to see Nebula striding in again, but this time her arms full of boxes and a glass. She dropped all the boxes on you, put the glass of water in your hand so quickly you didn’t even have time to protest, and sat on the edge of your bed. She opened one of the box and you tried to move slightly to get a better look at what she was doing, grunting at the sudden pain that the movement caused. She took out to pills that she kept in her palm and finally looked at you.“Open your mouth.” she commanded.“No!” you objected, still convinced that you and your antibodies could heal without any medication.“Don’t make me open it for you.” she threatened.You started crawling away from her but the sudden headache came back strong, making you gasp in pain. Then, she seized her opportunity and brought her other hand to your jaw, pressing the sides so you would open wider. You tried debating yourself but damn, she was strong. She dropped the two pills into your mouth and took the glass from your hand to pour the water in your mouth herself, then closing it.“Swallow.”“Hm hm.” you shook your head from head to right with a frown.“Fine, if you wanna play it this way.”Removing her right hand from your mouth, she used the other one to hold your nose, making you no longer able to breath except if you swallowed the pills to breath through your mouth. Your eyes widened at how clever and cruel she could be at the same time. You tried holding your breath as long as you could, reading to not give in, but your head was starting to spin because of the lack of oxygen. You grunted in frustration and swallowed the pills, gasping for air once your mouth was empty.“See? It wasn’t so hard.” Nebula said smugly, not even holding back her grin.“That was so mean! Are you trying to kill me or something?!” you yelled.“I wouldn’t have to go this far if you weren’t so stubborn.”You knew she right so you didn’t answer and just gave her the death stare.“Alright, those were the pills for your headaches, now you need to take these to lower your fever.” she said picking up another box.“Uh uh! No way! One thing at a time.”“...Fine.” she had already forced you to take the first ones, she figured she could give you a break.Your eyes starting to feel heavy again, you yawned.“Are you tired?” she asked, still sitting next to your weak figure.“Exhausted…” you answered, your eyes starting to close.She took the covers next to you and unfolded them to tuck you in. You rolled to the side, your eyes now fully closed and your headache starting to finally go away.“Neb…?”“Yeah?”“Thank you…” you mumbled, drifting off to sleep.Looking at your innocent sleeping face, she allowed herself to smile. A genuine smile.She extended her hand to take a strand of hair that was falling on your face to tuck it behind your ear when the door of your bed room opened.“Oh, hi Nebula!” Mantis happily said as she noticed the other woman.“Shhh!” Nebula shushed her so she wouldn’t wake you up.“Oh, sorry,” she said now lowering her voice “I just wanted to bring y/n some tea, Peter told me she was sick-”“Out!” Nebula whisper-shouted at her.Mantis stood there with a cup of tea in her hand, wondering what she had done wrong.“Are you deaf? I already have everything under control. Now get out.” she ordered through gritted teeth.And with that Mantis left, closing the door behind her. Nebula got up from your bed and went to grab a book, then pulled out a chair that she placed next to you, and sat with the book she then started to read. Until the end of the day, she stayed at your side to make sure your sleep was undisturbed. And indeed, it was the best sleep you had had in years.