chapter ii.
KNIFE TO THE HEART

A DIM BEAM of light streaming in from the overhead window in the cockpit of the Milano stirred Astrea Voss awake the following morning. She groaned and rolled away from the brightness annoyingly pounding against her eyelids and sought darkness once more. But it never came when a warm pair of lips brushed against her bare shoulder, igniting a fire within her that prompted her eyelids to crack open and a smile to spread on her face.

Astrea glanced over her shoulder, meeting his bright eyes. "Good morning," she yawned.

And then she felt a sharp throb in her skull, causing her to grimace.

Gods, why did I have to drink so much?

With a groan, Astrea rolled over to face the ceiling and began massaging her temples. Her boyfriend chuckled knowingly.

"Regretting all those drinks now?"

"Please, don't talk," she whimpered.

"Always so dramatic," Peter teased, rising to his feet and throwing the blanket over her.

She reached out and slapped his bare ankle, as Peter shuffled around the Milano to find his clothes in the mess they created during the night. Clothes were scattered all over the place, they had knocked a chair over, and there was two empty cups tipped over on the table littered with a few crumbs from the snack they shared after they made their way toward his cot for a couple blissful hours.

Astrea pushed aside her hangover and rose to her feet, knowing they both had an interminable day ahead of them and she couldn't stay in bed all day. Even if the thought seemed rather tempting. But that would only lead to Yondu yelling at them, and Astrea really didn't feel like hearing him get all worked up right now. She held the blanket against her nude body as she began searching the Milano for her clothing.

It was surprisingly hard to find the chlothes she had worn last night, and when she did, Astrea got dressed and freshened up. While combing her fingers through her blonde hair, she felt Peter's arms encircle her waist and his head dip down to lay on her shoulder. She turned her head, offering him a warm smile and a quick kiss.

"What time is it?"

"Almost eight-thirty," Peter replied.

Astrea sighed, turning in his arms. "We better get going. Yondu won't be pleased if you don't leave for Morag soon. And if I'm not there when we meet up with Kedrin, I'll surely get an ear full from him as well." She looped her arms around his neck, leaning up to peck his lips. "And I really, really don't want to get him all wound up today."

Her words felt like a knife had pierced his heart.

Peter Quill had woken up early this morning. As he laid beside Astrea while she slept, his thoughts had drifted to his conversation with Yondu last night and the task he had given him. The Orb ─ whatever it may be and do ─ was rare, and the Broker would pay highly for it. Higher than what they're usually paid. And that had sparked an idea. One that has been on his mind, engraved in his heart, since the moment he was forced to become a Ravager: he was going to leave.

He knew that it was a dangerous idea to betray the people he has known for years, but Peter also knew that this would be his only chance to break free from Yondu and the rest of the people who used to give him nightmares as a child. He wasn't going to pass it up. Even if that meant he had to lie to the woman he loved. Peter just hoped that she wouldn't be too angry with him for what he would soon.

"Yeah," he forced a smile, "we definitely don't want to anger Yondu." Or, at least, I don't want you to anger him.

"I'll see you later." Astrea leaned in for one last kiss, which Peter Quill secretly savored more than any kiss, before she unwrapped her arms from around his neck and stepped away. She retrieved her weapons and her Ravager jacket before making her way toward the hatch.

"Love you," Peter called after her.

"I love you, too," she echoed with a grin, the sight stopping his heart. Astrea did not understand how much he needed to see her smile right now, as his anxiety for what would soon happen was making him feel sick to his stomach.

As soon as the hatch was open, the harsh sun blinded her. She brought a hand up to shield her eyes as she pulled on her jacket. Astrea weaved her way through the low parts of Xandar, trying her best to ignore the throbbing in her skull. It wasn't long before she came upon Thorns. The yellow and green neon sign still glowed, even in the daylight, and the arrow blinked to attract customers. She knew most ─ if not all ─ of the Ravagers were likely enjoying their breakfast inside after a long night accompanied with some of Madame Rose's exotic women and an endless flow of alcoholic beverages.

Stepping inside, Astrea noticed a few of the Madame Rose's women walking around and almost all of them were half dressed. They were cleaning table tops and, just as she had assumed, serving breakfast to their paying customers with their chests practically popping out of their shirts. Astrea had to side-step out the way as a woman with wild, purple hair and dazzling pink eyes purposely brushed her breasts against her as she walked by.

She made her way toward the table in the corner where she saw a few of her friends sitting. Midas was combing her fingers through her tangled hair, laughing at something Felix had said as the man stuffed his face with some toast, while Jaide was flirting with the waitresses who was refilling her cup.

Astrea plopped down beside Midas and gave her breakfast order to the waitress, whose face was more pink than the sky when the sun fell and the moon took its place. She shook her head, watching the waitress scurry away and Jaide smirk into her cup.

"You're unbelievable," Astrea commented.

"What?" Jaide gave an innocent smile. "I was just ordering some food."

"Mhm. And while you were 'ordering some food'," she air-quoted, "did you happen to seductively whisper sweet nothings into that girl's ear?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please," Midas scoffed. "You get more women than men do."

Felix turned to her, offended. "I am sitting right here."

"Oh, I know," Midas smirked.

With a roll of his eyes, Felix glanced down at his toast. "I get women," he mumbled under his breath, causing them to snicker.

Jaide reached over to rub his back with a grin. "Oh, of course you do, Felix. Of course you do." Then, she turned to look at Astrea and asked, "What took you so long to join us, anyway?"

Midas bumped her elbow into Astrea's side with a smirk. "Oh, she and Quill were fooling around last night. I have no doubt their fun resumed this morning, and that is why she joined us so late."

"Yes and no," Astrea admitted. "Also, how do you know what we were doing last night? What, did you have your ear pressed up against the outside of the Milano? That's creepy, Starr, even for you."

"You two ran out into the night like two teenagers," she deadpanned. "It's not hard to guess what soon followed."

Astrea shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Where is Quill?" Felix wondered, having not noticed him walk into the establishment yet. "Figured he'd be with you."

"We're not always attached at the hip, I'll have you know."

"You and Quill are always with each other. Honestly, Astrea, it's a wonder you haven't had his children yet." Astrea choked on her toast. With a surprised laugh, Midas reached over to pat her back as her friend started coughing.

After a moment, Astrea cleared her throat, saying, "We don't have 'fun' ─ as you like to put it ─ all the time, Starr. I'd appreciate it if we just dropped the entire conversation right now, please. And to answer your question, Felix, Peter has just left for Morag before Yondu finds out he hasn't left yet."

"Probably for the best. Yondu's in a particularly foul mood today," Midas warned. "I don't think his night went as he so planned with the women that were in his company."

"Why do you say that?" Astrea asked, picking up the toast the waitress brought over and spreading the jam.

"I mean it's just a theory, so I could be wrong, but Yondu has refused to make eye contact with any of the women during his breakfast. Then, he left for the Elector to prepare for the meeting later without a word. Even for Yondu, that's strange behavior." Midas bit into her morning delicacy, the white powder of the sugary sweet food sticking to her upper lip and causing Felix to smile.

"You've got something . . ." He motioned to his own upper lip.

"Oh!" Midas quickly used her finger to wipe the powder off before licking her fingertip clean. She truly had the sweetest tooth in the entire group. The woman was slim and fit as can be, but she sure could eat a lot of sweets. All of them were certain that she has tasted every dessert in the entire galaxy, even if Midas Starr denies having done so.

"It's a wonder your teeth haven't fallen out yet," commented Astrea.

"Leave me and my food alone," Midas glared, before taking a large bite which resulted in more powder coating her mouth.

a/n: okay so this was actually going to be one huge chapter but then i decided at the last minute to separate it into two chapters because it would make more sense. i hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter and the intro of some of my ravager ocs!! ✨ next chapter will be the meeting with kedrin (which honestly isn't that important, but hey, it's part of the plot so 🤷🏼‍♀️) and then we finally enter the guardians of the galaxy plot!!