Nyctophilia // Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

am i dreaming?

Josephine's pov

He is dead.

Gone.

No one would ever hear his laugh.

We wouldn't hear his snide remarks.

His funny jokes.

His advice.

His whistle.

His voice.

We would never see him smile.

We would never feel his presence.

Because he wasn't here.

Not anymore.

He sacrificed himself, to save his son. He was a hero. He was a dad.

He was a guardian of the galaxy.

When I first saw Yondu's lifeless body, I couldn't move. We weren't close, but in the time that I knew him...he had a good heart.

Death never scared me. It was what death caused, that scared me.

Peter came onto the ship holding Yondu in his arms. Holding his dad in his arms.

The sobs that escaped his mouth are forever engraved in my memory. The way his body gave up on him and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, replays in my brain like film on a big screen.

Watching him still trying to speak to the only father he ever really had was heartbreaking.

But the worst part was seeing the realization creep upon his face, that Yondu was really gone.

Death wanted Peter, but Yondu made a deal with death. And gave himself in exchange.

Death affects everyone, whether he took you, your family or your friend.

But death is not personal. I am actually quite fond of death. It is the only thing in life that is fair.

You cannot escape death. Death does not have favorites.

But death hurts.

Quill showed me that death hurts because even though he, himself, is not dead. A small piece of him is.

I think that is what scares me.

Dying piece by piece, yet coming out completely unscathed.

We are having a funeral for Yondu. To celebrate him. To thank him. To say anything we wish we could've said to him while he was still here.

Everyone gathered any objects that could've been sentimental to Yondu or the memories we shared with him.

Once everything was set in place, we stood around him and his decorated casket. It was silent for a while before Quill cleared his throat.

"I told Gamora how when I was a kid, I used to pretend David Hasselhoff was my dad." Drax, Mantis, Rocket and I looked at each other confused.

"He's a singer and actor from Earth, really famous guy." Peter clarified.

"Earlier, it struck me...Yondu didn't have a talking car, but he did have a flying arrow. He didn't have the beautiful voice of an angel, but he did have the whistle of one. Both Yondu and David Hasselhoff went on kick-ass adventures and hooked up with hot women...and fought robots. I guess David Hasselhoff did kind of end up being my dad after all. Only it was you, Yondu." Tears fall from his face.

With the state he's in, I grab his hand. Like a child would with a parent. I squeeze it a couple of times to let him know that everything is going to be ok.