[ closed ] there’s a room where the light won’t find you

[nostalgiabomb]

who: Star-Lord Peter Quill and Gamora
what: when training goes wrong OR yer a wizard, Peter
when: early January
where: Perimeter Guard training facility
warnings: none yet!


[ It’s not that Peter isn’t a good fighter, really.

Because he is. He’s scrappy, and he’s tenacious, and he’s not afraid to fight dirty when he has to. The Ravagers taught him well, in that regard, if it could even be called teaching – how to time his shots, when to go for the nuts, shit like that. It’s worked well for him, for a long while. It’s how he’s gotten by for twenty-some-odd years out in the black, working on instinct and reflex and, when those failed him, a healthy application of gunfire and low blows. For the line of work he usually performed, it was fine.

Now, though, he’s saving galaxies and going up against zealots who might as well be as immovable as mountains. Now he’s going up against psychos who were practically immortal, who could manipulate the world around them to meet their whims. And one of these days, they’re going to go up against a megalomaniac with armies at his command, with warriors and assassins and about a zillion instruments of death at his fingertips.

So... you know. Jabbing out someone’s eyes probably isn’t going to get Peter very far, in the grand scheme of things.

If he’s honest, he’s not entirely sure what training up will do for him. It’ll make him faster, sure. Stronger, too, probably. But if he gets caught-out alone with one of Thanos’ generals? One of his other so-called children? Or, hell, the Mad Titan himself?

Being able to throw a slightly better punch isn’t going to help him much, is it?

But it was important to Gamora, for some reason, and the look of disappointment she had shot his way when he had initially refused had been like a stab in the gut. So here they are now: a former assassin and a former thief, training for a battle that may or may not happen, in the Perimeter Guard’s training facility. For once, they have the area to themselves – which is a goddamn blessing, because Gamora is basically beating the shit out of him. But, like, in a playful way. The sort of controlled, measured attacks of a cat toying with a mouse.

If he wasn’t so completely sure that Gamora was on his side, this time, he’d be flashing back to that sunny day on Xandar and running for the blasters he had left on a nearby bench.

And as it has almost every time before, it ends with Peter cursing as he hits the floor. ]

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

[ You know, this round was going pretty well, and Peter had almost tricked himself into thinking he might actually have this one.

He doesn't, though. Of course he doesn't. And things go wrong probably around a minute or so in, where she had feinted left and he had fallen for it, and it had put him on the defensive without an opening to regain his ground. Her hand closes around his wrist, and something like panic spikes in him, prickly and hot and demanding an outlet, though it's soon forgotten as loses his footing, as his back slams down against the mats again.

The air rushes out of him, and— whoa, when did he end up down here? That's weird. Wasn't he standing just a second ago? ]

[godslay]

[ She goes down with him, her knee landing beside his ribs as she folds his arm back, pinning his wrist. Hovering over him, oh-so casually, she just watches his face with narrowed eyes. ]

Keep me on the defensive. Push me back and force separation as immediately as possible.

[ She leans closer, challenging. ]

Break my hold.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He hisses in a breath as she forces his arm away, holding him down, and—

Okay. Okay, that's good advice and all. She's trying to teach him something, and to his credit, he does file the information away. (Look at him: trying to learn. Be proud, Gamora.)

As much as he's usually up for a challenge, for a bit of healthy competition, but once again—

Peter is still Peter. ]

I dunno. [ Panted out, because he's still out of breath from this round. ] I kinda like where this is going.

[godslay]

[ This is supposed to be a lesson, and it's not very lesson-like – not when Peter is so... Peter.

Gamora, however, is still Gamora.

Instead of verbally telling him off, she just starts to apply pressure on his wrist, pushing back until it should become increasingly uncomfortable. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ ... well, okay, that'll teach him to make light of things.

Maybe it's the stupid optimist in him at work, but he had sort of expected Gamora to just— sigh at him? Tell him to focus? But when she continues to twist his arm, when she pushes, he starts to squirm, sucking in a sharp breath. ]

Ow, ow— shit Gamora, ow—

[godslay]

[ She doesn't let up, despite his complaints, continuing to apply the pressure. She won't damage him, that much she's certain of, but if he's not going to take this seriously, if he's not going to throw himself into the fight, then she's going to... motivate him.

She told him what to do, after all.

She leans her weight into it – controlled and careful – watching his face and paying attention to his body, but she only intends to stop when he can break the hold, as she's taught him, or if he genuinely can't. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Gamora's probably talked him through this, like, a dozen times by now, but talking through it is much different from actually doing it, because just talking doesn't have the added distraction of, you know.

Pain.

He latches onto the first thing he remembers, which doesn't necessarily mean it's the right maneuver, but he's trying it anyway. His free hand lashes out, his hand gripping the nape of her neck, and he yanks her down toward him, hoping to break her grip and to roll her onto her back and switch their positions. ]

[godslay]

[ Better.

Gamora lets him perform one of the maneuvers she'd taught him, and she moves with the way he drags her, letting him roll her onto her back – mostly, to make sure his arm doesn't get mangled in the process.

She hits the mat with a light "oof!" and finally, with her hold broken, the pressure on his wrist is gone. ]

If you had done that sooner, it would have hurt less.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He follows through with the roll, keeping the two of them close together to better maintain his control. Once she's on her back, he lets the momentum bring him up, and he straddles her hips.

Another break in the action, for now, and Peter massages his shoulder, huffing out an almost annoyed sigh.

A little petulantly, ]

Or.

You could've done that without hurting me.

[godslay]

I thought you liked a little pain.

[ ... Did Gamora just make a sex joke?

It might be hard to tell, given that her expression is still bland and unmoved, and she continues on, ]

I wanted you to take it seriously, and pain did that.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Even if she wasn’t, Peter still takes it as one, and he flashes her a startled, pleased smile.

Though it turns into a pout once she finishes her thought. ]

I was taking this seriously.

[ he says, lying through is goddamn teeth.

He shakes out his hand (all the while still sitting astride her hips, oops). ]

You nearly took my arm off.

[godslay]

[ She knows he's lying, and the unimpressed look on her face says it all. He's lucky she hasn't thrown him off and across the room yet. ]

That was nothing.

[ Not to say it wasn't painful, but she means it could have been worse. ]

Would you like a better demonstration?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He catches that flat, unenthused look she casts him, and he dithers a little.

After a second, in an effort to stave off both a lecture and Gamora’s offer (threat?) of a demonstration, ]

... I may have had a lapse in judgment.

[ But in general, he does take this seriously, but something about today makes him feel a little irreverent, a little...

Well. Assholeish, is probably the most apt term.

There’s a weird energy that’s been tingling up his spine all day, a weird restlessness that he can’t quite explain. He feels peppier than usual, for no real reason. It’s not like he got anymore sleep than usual, drank anymore coffee than usual. As far as he knows, he hasn’t imbibed or eaten or breathed or touched or existed in the general vicinity of anything weird, so—

He just figures he’s in a good mood. Or that Gamora has put him in a good mood. After all, these past several weeks have been a goddamn fantastic, collectively, which is why he hasn’t exactly put himself under a microscope. ]

[godslay]

Mm.

[ Still not impressed, still not convinced.

... Which is why she reaches up, grabs hold of his shirt, and throws her weight into lifting her hips to try and throw Peter over her head and once again reverse their positions.

Because he also earned that. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter should have seen this coming, but – surprise, surprise – he doesn’t.

Which means when Gamora grasps his shirt, his first instinct is to grab hold of her wrist – not to move out of the way. He yelps in alarm as he’s flipped, and when he lands on his back again, the breath rushes out of him.

Hi again, ceiling. How have things been for you since you and Peter last saw one another? ]

[godslay]

[ Now it's Gamora's turn to land on his hips, her hand still gripping his shirt as she looks down at him. ]

Are you ready to do this properly or should I keep throwing you for the rest of the day?

[ Not that she has too many complaints about that, but she's sure Peter won't get much out of it. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ His lips part to respond, and the words, Isn’t that what you usually do anyway? stand on the tip of his tongue.

At the very least, most of their training sessions end with Gamora getting the upper hand, so her throwing him around for the rest of the session isn’t too far from the norm, all things considered.

But that’s not the answer she’s looking for, he knows, and he huffs out a breath, nodding. ]

Yeah, yeah. I’ll behave.

[godslay]

[ Something relaxes in Gamora's expression, and though it's much more subtle than approval, she looks pleased.

No praise, but she does push herself up off of him, getting to her feet and dusting off her leggings.

And again, she offers him a hand. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Okay, cool. That seems to have done the trick, he thinks, and a bit of tension leaves him when that look of disapproval fades away.

He takes her hand, hauling himself up to his feet again. He brushes himself off, and gives one more pointed roll of his shoulder, as if to remind her that that had hurt.

It’s not the worst he’s had, though. When he was younger, the Ravagers would beat the shit out of him, would punch and kick and shove him until he was bruised and bleeding. His younger days were filled with frequent visits to the ship’s medic, and even those visits generally consisted of a Ravager slapping a bandage on him and telling him to suck it up and walk it off.

These sparring sessions, by comparison, were practically a cakewalk, even if Gamora did soundly beat his ass every single time. ]

Are we going again?

[godslay]

[ She looks him up and down, appraising, and then seems to decide that he doesn't look any worse for wear – sore shoulder or not. ]

You should be able to handle it.

[ Should as in she expects him to. She likes to think that she's fought with Peter enough, worked at his side and watch him to determine his stamina and what his body is capable of. Sometimes, she'll cut him slack, not push him as far as he can go, because she doesn't want to wear him out, but she also doesn't want to let him skirt by. "Good enough" isn't the same as "good." ]

I want you to come at me instead, this time.

[ She steps away from Peter, creating that separation, but instead of taking up her own stance, she just waits.

... She's obviously ready to respond whenever. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He nearly rolls his eyes at her, nearly comments on what glowing praise that was, but—

That might actually get his eyes gouged out, considering he had just given his word that he’d take this more seriously. With a surprising amount of restraint, he swallows down the comment.

At her direction, he looks at her a little skeptically, sees the way she just... stands there, and it almost feels a little insulting that she doesn’t visibly prepare herself. Like, that’s rude, right? That’s, like, bad sportsmanship, isn’t it? Gamora should at least pretend that Peter is a threat, shouldn’t she?

But he shakes his head, slipping into his usual stance. He circles her a little to find his opening – which is difficult, considering she’s... not really... doing anything; he might as well be trying to attack a statue for how little she seems to react.

So eventually, he just says to himself, Fuck it, and after a moment of thought, he launches himself, closing the space between them. ]

[godslay]

[ It's a tactic to throw Peter off, of course. If she doesn't treat him like a threat, she expects that to inspire himself to prove that he is, that he can be.

... If she thought him totally incapable, she wouldn't taunt him. That would be actually rude.

A twitch of her lips – a flicker of response that's almost "good" – when he throws himself into the spar. He's gotten faster since they first started, she mentally acknowledges, and it's not as easy for her to duck and dodge with barely a thought. She darts back, letting him push her across the mat, though she stays out of reach.

She intends to dance away from him for a while, to keep him moving, advancing, so that she can get a better idea of where he leaves himself open or how he favors his offense. She's used to putting him on the defensive after a certain point, rather than giving him the opportunity to keep coming at her.

However, having a seamless offense, knowing how to make the pauses in-between unworkable for an opponent, can mean the difference between keeping an advantage and losing it with the wrong opening. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Well, this is frustrating.

Peter’s always favored using his fists, if he was forced into close quarters combat. Quick jabs and low punches meant he could dance out of reach that much faster, could stay quick on his feet and dance away when the inevitable retaliation came. But Gamora keeps just out of his reach, and a few times he swears he felt the quick lick of her curls against his knuckles, the rasp of her shirt against his hand. He tells himself to keep his cool, to not let it get to him, but—

Look, it’s super annoying to go from being the big fish in a little pond to the tiny fish in the big wide ocean – and that’s basically what the transition from lowly Ravager to illustrious Guardian of the Galaxy has been for him. He knows he’s good, but hanging out with his team has proven to him, time and again, that he’s still the low man on the totem pole, all things considered.

He swings out another punch – a little more force than necessary, which means he leaves his side exposed a little longer than usual.

It’s... more than annoying. More than frustrating.

It’s almost infuriating, and it prickles up his spine. ]

[godslay]

[ Of course, Gamora sees the moment as soon as it happens.

She sees his side left wide open and exposed, and though she's been dancing out of his reach, this time she lashes out. Her long leg swings around, fast and blunt, to slam her shin into his ribs.

It's a quick tag, and though she lashes out forcefully, she doesn't intend to do more than to leave him winded. She wants him to see the consequences of his actions, of every attack, so that he doesn't let himself get so carried away again.

—because she not only saw the opening itself, but the unnecessary force behind it that caused the opening. This is exactly what she's trying to teach him – unrelenting restraint. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He sucks in a startled breath, stumbling with the blow but trying to dance back with it. It wasn’t enough to drive him to the ground, or enough to break his concentration entirely, but enough that that same annoyance twists his stomach, sharp and bitter, makes him huff out a sharp breath as he recomposes himself.

Gamora’s better than him at this. He knows that. He’s experienced it. But sometimes, these training sessions feel like Gamora is dangling a carrot in front of him. He gets so close to winning, sometimes – or at least, he thinks he does – and then she jerks and the prize is shifted that much further away. It should feel like progress, but sometimes, it just makes this improving thing feel impossible.

Which apparently is how he’s feeling right now. Peter should learn his lesson, to stay calm, to keep his cool, but— that restlessness claws up his spine again, that tingling sensation flows through him. There’s nothing to show for it, though, as he swings out another wide punch – a haymaker, more akin to the cowboy movies of John Wayne than the easy jabs of Muhammad Ali. ]