Things have changed

Arcane warrior, a title that used to strike fear into everyone's hearts but now...what were they? What were you? Once a fierce race now you were a raider who stole for and from the best to make a living granted you were the best in that case. This planet was desolate though having been apparently already picked clean years ago but you'd thought you'd at least give it a shot however now your feet were slugging through ankle deep mud as rain poured from above, lovely. Cursing your choice in picking sites you slowly trudged back towards your ship when a form came into view only a little off in the distance. You stood for a moment to see if the form would stand or even attack you but it didn't move earning your curiosity, perhaps this place had one last treasure to give. Hurrying over as fast as you could manage in the sticky mud you quickly realized that the form was a person, a man who was lying in the mud and upon closer inspection you discovered that you knew him. Peter Quill was one of the most notorious raiders out there but to you the man was a grade a pain in the ass cause he constantly managed to swipe your treasure out from under your nose. You looked around only to finally get a sense of what had happened here cause just beyond Peter's unconscious body was a huge creature with what looked like a dinosaur's body and dragonhead lying dead.

You knelt down beside Peter to assess the damage done to him determining quickly that he'd need to be treated soon if he were to survive. Peter's skin was chilled from the constant rain that fell on this planet, blood was still visible even though the mud was absorbing it, his breathing was shallow and when you felt for a pulse it was very faint. Sighing heavily you seriously considered leaving him there, less competition after all but unfortunately in the end you did have a conscience so using your arcane abilities you hardened the mud beneath Peter then crafted more mud into a horse, attached the two then mounted the steed. A few moments later you had Peter back at 'The Nebula' your pride and joy of a ship where you hauled him inside after dismissing the steed from existence. You laid Peter on the floor of your ship just inside the hanger door, closing it before beginning to strip the wet layers from yourself then beginning to do the same to Peter finally revealing the true extent of his injuries. Gently you managed to get him to the infirmary bay of your ship then up onto the treatment table where you worked quickly to gather the supplies you'd need to treat Peter's injuries. The most prominent injury was a gash on his forehead that had dripped blood down his face, gory but it didn't actually look all that bad, next was a worse cut that traveled from his diaphragm down to his hip on the opposite side diagonally, there were also 4 puncture wounds on his shoulder 2 on the front and two on the back finally a few broken ribs not to mention a dislocated wrist completed the set.

Once again you gave a heavy sigh while shaking your head although you had to admire the fact that for saying Peter was merely Terran or human he was a pretty tough customer. You took Peter's left wrist in hand that hadn't been dislocated to apply the IV too, a cuff that contained two sharp needles that you clamped on to it resulting in a muscle spasm from the jolt of pain Peter must have felt but after in place it stopped allowing you to hang the IV bag then with a few presses of buttons on the cuff it started flowing. You had been trained in medicine back home before the fall of the Arcane so this was all second nature, after pulling out a panel that connected to the table you punched in some codes to pull up several screens on a holographic monitor so that you could keep a close eye on Peter's vitals. Finally you could get to work cleaning then closing the wounds that he'd suffered using your nimble hands to stitch the large gash in a matter of minutes followed by the one on his forehead and last you snapped his wrist back into place. Less then 3 hours later you smiled proudly at the work you'd done while cleaning your hands on a towel, as Peter was still unconscious but more stable now then before. You had left his torso bare but did manage to get him into a pair of loose cotton pants you had sitting around from an old boyfriend.

2 full days past with no sign of Peter waking any time soon so you put your ship in gear then simply put it on auto pilot so it could drift in the cosmos. Your jobs were all but finished for the moment so taking a couple days off wasn't such a big deal plus something was just screaming at you to continue to help Peter yet you didn't understand it. Walking slowly around the treatment table where Peter was still passed out you couldn't help but rake your gaze over him, admiring his strong form, elegant yet chiseled features even the stubble was a befitting for whatever reason and despite your dislike for his habits of stealing from you...he was pretty good looking. You smirked at that thought then reached out a hand to gently tussle his hair, pulling at a couple strands that had gotten caught in the bandages before brushing them aside to join the rest of his messy mop. You ran a hand lightly over the still exposed skin of his chest on the one side then back up to his cheek, loving the feel of his stubble how it was hard yet soft all at the same time. Suddenly Peter let out a low groan, scrunching up his features momentarily before slowly opening his eyes causing you to quickly retract your hands in hopes he wouldn't have noticed you caressing his cheek in such a manner.

"Wha...where am I...?" Peter rasped out

"Well it's good to see you too," You chided sarcastically

"(Y/N)? Is that you?" Peter inquired clearly still a little groggy, probably due to either his usual self or perhaps it could have been the blow to the head too but that was just a guess.

"Morning sunshine," You jest with a smirk

"What...happened...Agh!" Peter tried to sit up but was quickly halted by the pain you presumed was from his still broken ribs as well as the gash across his torso that probably wasn't fully healed yet.

"Easy tough guy," You cooed placing a hand to his upper arm on the left while your other one pressed to the portion of his chest that was not bandaged. Peter didn't fight you as you eased him back into a laying position but he did manage to give you a questioning look.

"Where am I? How'd I get here?" Peter inquired again only this time he appeared to be almost fully coherent.

"I found you on the planet storm surge half dead and brought you back to my ship..." You trailed off while gesturing around you "for treatment" you finished

"You saved me?" Peter summed up still panting slightly from the effort it had taken to almost sit up then layback down.

"I...um...guess you could put it that way," You admitted not having really realized it before.

"Why would you do that? Aren't you the one who always called me a menace?" You could tell that Peter was now chumming the water to see what kind of a bite he could get out of you.

"I...well...you are...still a menace but..." You trailed off awkwardly

"But?" Peter prompted making you want to hit him with something potentially hard and breakable.

"But I couldn't just leave you there okay? I do have a conscience you know," You mumble out while crossing your arms in a pouting fashion.

"Ha-ha...guess I can't really disagree with that, anyways thanks," Peter chuckled out

"What?" You asked being taken off guard by his gratitude

"Yeah, if it wasn't for you I'd probably be dead by now so thanks," he tells you with a smile on his face but it wasn't his normal one that was purely for hiding behind, no this was...sincere.

"Um...your welcome" You state simply as you feel heat flush in your cheeks causing you to turn around quickly so that Peter wouldn't see you blush.

Amazingly enough Peter made a full recovery with in a couple weeks at which point you managed to locate his ship so as to return him to it. You couldn't help but feel a little disappointment as he was getting prepared to leave then he stopped just before heading out of your hanger door. You stared at him in confusion as Peter came walking back up to you.

"Hey, (Y/N)?" He asked getting your attention from the controls for the hanger door

"Yeah...?" Suddenly Peter's lips caught yours as you turned your head to look at him, derailing your thought processes right off the tracks. At first you were so shocked you couldn't react but after a moment to process you pressed back getting as close to him as you could, eventually bringing up a hand to cup his stubbled jaw line while his hands cupped your hips. When you pulled from the kiss both of you were breathlessly panting but you still managed a smile as you tapped your forehead to his chest...yep things had changed.