Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She'd been sitting in the cell for what felt like hours now, watching Yondu and Rocket try and get Groot to retrieve some sort of “fin” they kept talking about. That was, until Taserface decided to actually install some security for the prisoners.

She had seen this guard earlier before they got locked up- when they had been tied to chairs to be humiliated and taunted about their impending deaths -dancing around like a jackass and sending Ravagers that had “betrayed” Taserface out into the deep vacuum of space.

She had never caught his name, not that she cared. After all, everyone here seemed to have stupid names. He looked rather bored, simply standing around and occasionally glancing at the imprisoned aliens.

For now, Yondu and Rocket were waiting for Groot to find the fin, which was now taking longer with the raised threat of security. Lla Lla didn't have much stake in their escape, anyway, other than leaving with them… However, something else would catch her attention.

She'd notice the guard glance at her for a couple seconds longer than normal, before looking away once she turned her head. She was already stuck in a situation with no control, and with her tendency to lash out, she just wanted to dig herself into a deeper hole. “What are you looking at?” She'd sit a bit closer to the bars of the cell, her tail starting to flick in annoyance.

Now, the guard was becoming less shy about his staring, as he had just found a way to occupy himself. He'd push himself off from against the wall he'd been leaning on, before beaming down at Lla Lla with a mischievous grin. “What? Am I not allowed t’ stare no more? Not like you've got any say in it, or yer little traitor pals back there.”

Lla Lla would look back to Yondu and Rocket. “Pals" wasn't the most accurate description for the two of them, mostly because she had just met the both of them recently, and she was only here because she went to check out the traps set with Rocket and Groot. She had made a mental note since her imprisonment to stay far away from the Guardians if she made it out of here, and to never accept hiring requests from them. This was a drama she was not a part of, nor aware of.

“They're not my pals… I work for that mammal's team.”

She'd point to a rather defeated and pissed looking Rocket, who seemed to only light up once Lla Lla called him a mammal. “We've been over this, my name's Rocket! You don't need to call me a mammal, I know my species, you purple fuck!” Lla Lla would barely listen, simply rolling her eyes and turning back to the bars to find the guard was practically up against them, the grin still apparent on his face.

“So… why the guardians hire someone like you? ‘Ccording to yer very few documents, you ain't very well known, little missy.”

Lla Lla would let out a low growl of frustration, clearly still pissed about her predicament. “I would say I don't care why, but they're the reason I'm in this estupida… ehh… cárcel…?”

All while Lla Lla tried to remember the english word for cell, the guard would tease her. “C'mon! You were doin’ so well speakin’ English earlier! What's stoppin’ you now?” Lla Lla would let out a frustrated groan, throwing her hands up as she gave up trying to remember. Despite being fluent in both languages, she got them mixed up rather easily. “You know what I mean! This… room! Eh, but still… I don't know why they hired me, so don't bother asking.”

The guard would roll his eyes, his attention slowly fleeting as he got bored of the small talk the two of them were having. Of course, he wasn't just going to leave her alone.

“You know, you ain't very fun t’ talk to… but ya sure are nice t’ look at…” His eyes would narrow as he playfully eyed her up and down, much to her discontent. He had to make it worse, however. “If these bars wasn't in the way, I'd sure love t’ git my hands on yew…”

Lla Lla couldn't tell if this guard was joking or not, but with the way he was biting his lip subtly and damn near grinding against the cell bars, it didn't take a genius to guess his intentions. Even if she was a prisoner, she wasn't going to let herself be disrespected, no matter the company or situation she was in.

She'd stand up, not caring that he was taller than her by almost a whole foot, approaching the bars as her feathered tail still flicked angrily. “If these bars weren't here, I’d slit your throat.”

The guard would pull back from the bars slightly, but his teasing wasn't done just yet. He’d point a gloved finger at her in a slightly accusatory manner. “Hey now, girlie. You watch what yer sayin’. After all, you gonna end up dead anyway! Taserface said he gon’ execute y'all nex’ mornin’!” He'd then proceed to laugh right in her face.

What a morale booster for everyone.

“Course… I do got a special little offer fer a special little lady…” The guard would come up closer to the bars, flashing his crooked teeth once more. Lla Lla wouldn't back down, mostly because she wasn't scared of this wretched man, but also because she was already sick of his antics.

He'd wrap his hands around the bars, pressing right up close to the point that it felt like the bars were protecting her rather than keeping her captive. “You wanna leave? Well… jus’ spend a night wit’ me and I'll take ya right back home…”

Lla Lla would sneer. A night with anyone already didn't sound interesting to her, a night with this creature before her sounded like torture. Besides, who knows what this freak’s into.

“I'd rather die in my sleep than sleep with you.”

She'd press her face against the bars and spit right on his face. He'd pull back suddenly, disgusted with being spat on, as well as disappointed that he'd been turned down. He wasn't too surprised by it, this woman looked like a bundle of tension and silent rage. She'd probably never even slept with someone in a literal sense. He had to change the deal, preferably into something she might agree to.

He'd wipe the saliva off his face, and then off his glove and onto his jacket, before stepping forward again. This time, there was a noticeable distance between him and the bars, likely to keep himself safe from any spit that could come flying toward him. “Fine. You ain't gonna fuck me? Fight me. If you was able to git yerself hired by the Guardians, I wanna see just how good them fightin’ skills are. You win, I'll help ya out. Deal?”

That… actually didn't sound like too bad of an idea. Lla Lla was pretty confident in her fighting skills, considering she'd survived one of the harshest illegal fighting circles as a 5’4 woman against hulking men. She could easily take down this scrawny guard.

“Where would we fight? In here? It's a bit…” She'd take a moment to remember the word. “... crumpled.”

Close enough.

The guard would laugh, looking over the cramped and dirty cell that was already holding two other prisoners. “Nah, I'll take you down t’ the gym. Tha's where everyone goes t’ git a little sprawlin’ in. It ain't too far from here, and ain't no one else awake but us… So, ya still up fer grabs?”

Lla Lla would wrinkle her nose up at his last sentence. Something about how he phrased it sounded off to her. However, her freedom was tempting, and he didn't seem like a very threatening foe. Eventually, she decided it would be for the best.

Besides, she could always kill him if he tried to betray her. She didn't care how she got her freedom.

“Fine. If it means leaving free, I'll fight you. But no weapons. I want this to be fair.” The guard would put his hands up in a non-threatening manner. “Hey, tha's fine wit me. Just wanna see what this little unheard of bounty hunter’s got t’ offer…”

With that, he'd start to fumble with the pockets of his jack and pat around his belt, trying to find where he had put the keys he'd been given to her cell. Meanwhile, Rocket and Yondu would be watching this whole ordeal, with Rocket once again getting pissed seeing Lla Lla was being granted freedom on a silver platter.

“C'mon! You're just letting her out because you think she's pretty?! Don't we get a fair chance at leaving?!”

The guard would scoff, making his intentions rather clear as he finally found the keys and started fumbling with the lock. “Yeah, I'm lettin’ her win her freedom cuz she's pretty. I ain't gonna let you free, cuz I ain't attracted t’ squirrels…”

The cell door would open, and Lla Lla would walk out, before the guard would quickly slam the cell door closed as Rocket tried to leap out at him, locking it behind him.

Ignoring the insults shouted at him, he'd turn his attention back to Lla Lla, who was now looking between him and Rocket with the slightest hint of amusement on her cold expression.

“C'mon, I'll lead ya t’ the gym, girlie”

Chapter Text

To be safe, Lla Lla would follow alongside him rather than directly behind him. She wasn't one to follow people, and she especially wasn't going to follow behind this low life Ravager scum.

Wanting to try and break the strange tension between him and the silent alien, the guard would drop his bored and stoic look, glancing over at her with a cheeky grin before starting to run through the corridors of the ship.

A sense of panic would flood through Lla Lla. Great, the guard she barely trusted was already running to rat her out. She'd commence chase, catching up to him quickly before kicking him in the back of the legs.

He'd let out a gasp as he stumbled, and Lla Lla would pounce onto him, getting him on his back as she wrapped her fingers around his throat. Her teeth were bared in unbridled fury wrapped up as a snarl, and she'd lean down close to his face. “Why were you running, huh? Where were you going?!”

Clearly, the guard should probably stop trying to tease her, now that his life was on the line. He'd claw at her hands, trying to pull them off as he choked out a plea. “I-I was jus’... tryna race you! I wasn't… ghck… tryna pull nothin’!”

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Lla Lla would let her hands linger a moment longer, wanting to be sure he was telling the truth. Eventually, she'd take a leap of faith, and let him go, helping him up.

“Don't run again.” Was all she commanded to the guard as he swallowed hard, trying to soothe the dull ache in his throat. There was a sheepish air about him as he nodded, going back to leading her to the gym as he massaged his throat. Gone was the teasing demeanor.

“I jus’ wanted t’ race ya…” He'd have a dejected look on his face the rest of the way to the gym.

While trying to ease the tension once more, he tried a more palatable approach, trying to make some very brief and awkward small talk.

“So… wha’s yer name, girlie…?”

Lla Lla, looking a little confused, would turn her head to him, her brow furrowed. “Didn’t you say you already read my files? My name’s probably on there.”

“Right, right… Llavende…”

A brief silence.

“So, what’s your name then?”

“My name? Well, uh…” He’d grimace at his name. It wasn't something he could control, it was quite literally, and unfortunately, his birth name.

“It’s, uh… It’s Halfnut…”

Lla Lla couldn't help the way her eyebrows raised in confusion and curiosity. Halfnut? Out of any name in the galaxy, that was what he was stuck with?

She wouldn't respond with anything other than a simple hum, otherwise she might start making fun of him.

Once the two arrived, he'd try to shake off the past demeanors. He'd pull out some kind of ID attached to the front of his jacket, placing it in front of a rather primitive looking reader that would unlock and open the gym doors.

The inside reminded Lla Lla of the old fight club she used to be in before she became a full time mercenary. Weapons lined the walls, dummies were shoved in a corner for target practice, and a giant mat lay in the center of the room, perfect for sprawling.

Halfnut would walk off to the side, wanting to get ready to take her down and imprison her again. Maybe even arrange something with the other Ravagers so she could join them, like they'd done with Groot because he was “cute”.

“So, you gonna git ready? Got any warm ups ya like t’ do?” He'd grin at her, having a much more genuine excitement behind his smile. She'd shake her head. Despite having always been told to warm up before she fought, she never had time for that. “No. It's better to just get this out of the way.”

Halfnut would mutter something to himself quietly as he started to take off his rather complex looking jacket covered in buckles, revealing a stained, plain, white T-shirt. He'd also take off his shoes and socks for better grip on the mat, while Lla Lla began to follow.

She'd set down her bomber jacket more carefully, with it being her prized possession. Halfnut had been wondering just why her shoes were so wide, but he was about to get his answer, as she revealed that her feet were a far cry from being normal.

It seemed the feathers on her tail and beak-like nose weren't the only bird-like thing about her, as she revealed the sharp talons that belonged to her four toed eagle feet. It was… a bit strange to look at, considering how humanoid she looked on the surface. However, he'd seen weirder looking aliens.

Now left in her bloodstained beige button up and brown cargo pants, she'd watch him approach the mat while she fixed her pig tails. She too would join once she secured her hair, her talons digging into the mat and tearing it slightly.

Halfnut would look his opponent up and down, taking notice of the various light blue scars littering her lean yet muscular lavender arms. He wasn't going to bring it up, however. He too had scars he preferred not to talk about.

“Y'know, if we ain't gonna be usin’ weapons, that means no claws. You keep those damn thangs to yerself.”

Lla Lla would nod in agreement while she pulled her aviator goggles down over her eyes, and the fight would seemingly start as the two circled each other and waited for one to strike. First round, Halfnut would try to charge first, but Lla Lla was swift.

In the blink of an eye, he'd go from charging at her to tapping out as she pinned him to the mat. The round was already over, and she had won. That wasn't supposed to go so quickly. He wanted her to stay longer.

“The hell was that?! I-I wasn’ ready, I wanna rematch!”

He was a bit flustered about losing so quickly, and as much as Lla Lla just wanted to get out right away, she figured one more round couldn't hurt.

The same thing happened yet again, and Halfnut demanded another rematch. Then another. And another.

Now Lla Lla was starting to get a bit frustrated with how long this was taking. Why couldn't he just accept she won already and help her leave?

Now 14 rounds deep, things would take a turn, as Halfnut had finally won the high ground. He'd catch her off guard as she tried to strike, dodging her punch and grabbing her arm. He'd yank her arm forward, and sweep her legs out from underneath her. She'd hit the mat with a thud, and before she could get up, Halfnut would pin her down on her front, holding her arms behind her back. Lla Lla had been caught off guard, but as she finally made sense of what happened, she wasn't upset or demanding a rematch. She was… pleasantly surprised.

After being on such a long losing streak, he had finally managed to win a round. The two were both panting heavily, since these last 14 rounds they had taken no breaks between them. Finally, she'd tap out.

“... I yield.”

Halfnut would let her go and help her up, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. “Finally gotchu, girlie!” Lla Lla would dust herself off, stretching a bit, before turning to Halfnut.

“I feel like I’ve proved myself plenty to be able to warrant you helping me leave this ship.”

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. Halfnut still wanted to keep sprawling, mostly because he enjoyed trying different techniques on her, even if he lost.

“C’mon! Lets do a couple more rounds, then I’ll help ya out.”

Lla Lla would sigh. They were already 14 rounds deep, and she didn't want to waste any time. However, since it'd be easier to keep him alive so he could help her find her confiscated stuff, she gave in…

At the end of their 20 rounds of sprawling, Lla Lla was obviously victorious, with the score being 17-3. She still had Halfnut pinned to the mat as she tried to catch her breath. “This… was so unnecessary…”

The sweat on her forehead made her skin glisten, and with the way she was panting, he could ever so slightly see her blue tongue sticking out. She looked exhausted…

Halfnut would freeze up underneath her as he tried to look away, helpless to the boner he'd popped. It was always the worst timing with him.

Lla Lla would finally stand up, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her fingerless leather glove, before reaching a hand down to help Halfnut up. He'd take her hand, trying to adjust his pants once he stood while Lla Lla eyed him suspiciously. She'd notice the bulge straining against the front of his pants, and she'd only get more suspicious.

“What's that in your pocket…?”

Halfnut would turn to her, his cheeks flushing as he tried to decide whether to tell the truth or not.

“Well, uh… that… that ain't somethin’ in my pocket, girl…” Lla Lla would furrow her brow I'm confusion, trying to get a better look at the outline. To her, it kinda looked like a weapon, and she wasn't going to stop bothering him until she knew what it was and that it wouldn't be used against her.

“Then what is it? It's not some kinda weapon, right? I thought we agreed no weapons.” Her fists and body would clench up, preparing herself for a possible fight. Halfnut would bite his tongue, now getting way more embarrassed about the fact that Lla Lla was thinking he had a weapon in his pants…

Well, some ladies thought of it that way, but he wasn't in the mood to make a joke.

“It, uhm… It ain't a weapon… Is a part of me…” Lla Lla would try and use what Halfnut gave her to figure out just what was in his pants. After some reasonable thinking, which she should've tried a little earlier, Lla Lla would realize what he was hiding in his pants, and a bit of a disgusted and uncomfortable look would arise from her.

She'd look him up and down, her nose wrinkled, before saying something that showed she clearly didn't know much about human anatomy. “Well, can you put it down? Make it go back down, this is uncomfortable.”

Seeing her cringe amused Halfnut slightly, and he'd let out a quiet chuckle. At least he wasn't so embarrassed now, since this was starting to be kinda funny. “I can't jus’… magically make it go down, y'know. It’ll go down by itself inna little bit.”

Lla Lla would nod in approval, not knowing what else to say, though she'd occasionally steal glances of the bulge that was bothering her so much for all the wrong reasons. She'd shake her head, trying to keep herself focused on what was important, not her lingering question on human anatomy.

“Will you be taking me to go retrieve my stuff and leave now?”

Halfnut would snap his focus back to the current issue of her wanting to leave. He didn't really want her to go, even if she'd been so cold while the two of them had been interacting. He kinda enjoyed her presence, even if he wasn't able to sleep with her. However, he couldn't just distract her with more fighting, and a promise is a promise…

“Yeah… I'll show you the way, jus’ grab yer stuff, I'll wait.”

Lla Lla would get herself situated, collecting her jacket, socks, and shoes, lifting her goggles back up so they rested on top of her head. With that, the two would head off to the small storage unit used for holding confiscated items from prisoners and members alike, both of them trying to ignore Halfnut’s hard on for their own separate reasons.

Chapter Text

The storage unit wasn't very far away, thankfully, being near the cell area. A convenient placement for confiscated goods.

Once again, Halfnut would use the ID attached to his jacket, and the lock interface would light up, following a click and a slide of the door. Inside there were tubs lining shelves, some named, some simply numbered.

Lla Lla would recognize her name on one of the tubs and dig through it, recognizing her belongings. With a sigh of relief, she'd start to pull some of the items out.

The first one was a rather decked out looking brown utility belt, strapped with tools for repair, two holsters on the sides for rechargeable Lightblasters, a pocket filled with first aid-adjacent items- if a sewing needle, thread, and numbing patches counted as first aid -and plenty of other hand held weapons and even brass knuckles. There would also be some more personal items attached, like a Walkman CD player with headphones connected, a wallet, a picture of an old Hispanic man- whom one could guess she knew personally -and a pack of nicotine gum.

She'd hold it out to Halfnut with one hand. “You mind holding this for me for a sec?” Halfnut would oblige, and once handed the belt, he'd be surprised by the sheer weight of it.

It had to be at least 10-12 lbs, and while he didn't struggle to carry it, he was a bit surprised it was so heavy. He'd use both hands to hold it while she retrieved the rest of her stuff, watching her pull out a strange, small metal box with no indication for what it could be used for, and an old, alien assault rifle she’d sling across her shoulder.

She'd take back her belt from him and fasten it around her waist. “I was wondering why I felt so much lighter…”

Now armed and ready to leave, all she needed to do now was head to the docks and find a ship to steal so she could fly to where her own ship was parked. “Alright, I've got my stuff. You can walk me to the docks, or just give me directions, and I'll be on my way.”

Once again, Halfnut was struck with his dilemma of not wanting her to leave. There was no ethical way to keep her here, especially now that she was armed to the teeth. If he couldn't convince her to stay, he wanted to go with her.

“Take me witchu, and I'll show you where the docks're at.”

Lla Lla was very hesitant. She already never trusted anyone, and now someone who was meant to imprison her and had earlier been harassing her was asking to come home with her.

“What? No, you're not coming on my ship, I'm just trying to get home. I'm not looking to add cabin members to my ship, just tell me where the docks are!”

Halfnut would sigh. He knew that was coming, he could tell the woman was a recluse, but that didn't mean he didn't want to keep trying. “Look ‘ere, you really wanna leave, right? Well, I wanna go off on my own, too. I don’ get t’ do that round here, wit missions and what not. I jus’ wanna have sum freedom, y'know? I won’ bother ya, if tha's what yer worried ‘bout!”

His reasoning was bordering on pleading, and from the sound of it, he wasn't gonna take no for an answer. Lla Lla would sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

She didn't have much time to decide before everyone else on the Eclector woke up, and while passing by what used to be her cell, she had spotted another Ravager conversing with Yondu and Rocket, holding what looked to be a “fin” like they'd been talking about earlier. She knew something was about to go down, and she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

A quiet growl of frustration would leave her throat, as she finally finished weighing the decision in her mind before she shouted in a hushed whisper, “Fine! Just show me where the docks are, I wanna get outta here!”

Halfnut’s eyes would light up with excitement, and with a cheery grin, he'd grab her hand and start leading her to the docks.

Though, his excitement was ruined as Lla Lla aggressively pulled her hand away from his. “Don't grab me.” Halfnut would shove his hands in his pockets, that dejected look making its way onto his face again. “Sorry, sorry… C'mon, I'll take ya t’ the docks. They ain't very far.”

His expression would become more neutral, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes. This girl was intriguing to him. How much she hid her intentions from everyone, how he couldn't read her expressions most of the time, and how she just seemed to hate everyone made him want to know more.

With a bit of a hurried rush- and Lla Lla ruthlessly taking out a couple patrolling Ravagers in cold blood -the two would make it to the docks as they started to hear the song Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay & The Americans start playing over the loud speaker.

Something was definitely off, and the two wanted out. It wasn't uncommon for the Guardians to get their way out of a sticky situation eventually- they'd become very well known for it -so it was likely a blood bath was about to wash through the Eclector.

Halfnut would point out a smaller ship that was rather inconspicuous but fast, making it perfect for what Lla Lla needed it for. He'd unlock it with his ID, and the two would hop aboard, making their way to the cockpit. While the ship was newer than what Lla Lla was used to, she'd easily warmed up to the controls in the cockpit since they seemed to be from the same company that made her ship, or at least some sort of subdivision of it.

Lla Lla would strap herself into her seat, but Halfnut would hesitate as he looked out the cockpit's windshield.

The airlock needed to be opened, and it wouldn't open unless someone was at the main dock control room.

He'd sprint out of the ship, trying to get to the control room as an announcement ran over the loud speaker, orders from Taserface to the crew to take out Yondu, Rocket, Groot, and Llavende.

For once, he was fine with ignoring orders.

He'd get to the control room and set the airlock to open on a timer, giving himself 2 ½ minutes to get back onto the ship. With the command in order, screams and shouts would start to echo through the metal enclosure as he raced back to the ship.

Lla Lla would be powering the ship on, getting it ready to take flight, and once Halfnut returned to the ship, she’d shut down the doors and let him get strapped in.

An alarm would go off throughout the docks as the timer reached the last 5 seconds, and the airlock would open up. With the ship fired up and hovering, Lla Lla would book it out of the Eclector without a second thought, setting her destination on the built in GPS to a destination Halfnut didn't recognize…

Chapter Text

Halfnut was holding onto his armrests for dear life as Lla Lla flew rather recklessly.

He'd gone on a couple joy rides in his life, but nothing about this was fun. The loops, the break-neck speed, and some of the jumps she made sent his stomach absolutely whirling.

As the two began to reach their destination, she'd slow slightly as a quaint little blue and grey planet came into view, the planet she had left her ship on when the Guardians hired her. They had offered a ride for her, since they said it would be easier that way with less ships to worry about.

The ship would touch down in a large field of grey grass, where a much larger, much older ship model was waiting for them nearby. Lla Lla would unbuckle her seatbelt and stand up, looking rather unbothered, while Halfnut struggled to stand.

His head was still spinning as he stumbled out of the ship to try and catch up with Lla Lla, wrapping his arms around her midsection and holding onto her once he caught up to keep himself steady.

Lla Lla would purse her lips in discomfort, but wouldn't push him away since he'd probably just fall right over. While she let him regain the ability to walk, she'd point to the bigger ship.

“That's where you'll be staying. There will be rules for you that I'll explain to you later. Let's just get off this planet for now, and we'll talk more once we're back up in space.”

She'd pry his arms off of her once she knew full well he could stand on his own, and she'd fumble with her utility belt, trying to find where she put the remote to her ship.

Halfnut would take a better look at the ship while she did so, and he noticed just how old it was. It had to be older than her, and she looked to be in her early twenties.

Why was she flying a rust bucket?

“Y'know, you're in real need of an upgrade there, girlie. Why haven't you sold that thing for parts yet?”

Lla Lla would pull out the remote, before stopping and turning to look at him. She had a dead serious look on her face, and a simple yet firm reply.

“It was my dad's. I can't sell it.”

It sounded to him like this ship had a sentimental value to her, and while that could sometimes be nice, it wasn't usually a great idea to live in a ship so old that might be prone to breaking down somewhere that would kill you instantly if something goes wrong. She didn't seem like she was going to listen to a rant about common sense, so he simply said nothing in return, watching as she unlocked the ship and had the ramp eject so the two of them could climb into her ship.

Once inside, it was clear from the interior that this ship was as old as it looked. The floors had a mismatched pattern of solid metal and grates where the cabin beneath was visible from.

In the main “living area” was a beaten up brown leather couch with two side tables on rather end that were all bolted to the ground, facing a giant window that allowed for view of the void when travelling.

Walking past the living area and toward the cockpit, there would be a kitchenette wedged between the two areas, consisting of some cabinets and drawers, an oven with a stove top, a very dusty looking microwave and coffee pot, and a fridge.

She'd stroll by the two “rooms”- as there were little to no distinguishing walls -without a word of explanation.

It seemed she was saving all the talking for when they got into space.

Once again, Halfnut would have to endure her whirlwind flying, but he'd get a bit more time to simply settle in and look around the cockpit, as the ship took longer to power on and hover.

While Lla Lla seemed to busy herself with flipping all the right switches that had been fashioned worn off labels written on pieces of tape, Halfnut would become a little curious. Where were they going now?

“D'you… got a destination in mind? Where're we goin’?” Lla Lla would shake her head, starting to power on the bottom jets to lift off the ground.

“We're not going anywhere in particular. I'm just trying to get the ship a good distance away from everything so it can float safely.”

From the brief glimpses at the ship's interior, he had a feeling she didn't just stay in the ship occasionally while moving around jobs. She probably lived on this ship, which wasn't too uncommon for many people that took up jobs all around the galaxy.

As the ship began to lift up, Lla Lla would tilt the ship upward with the steering wheel, before slamming her hand down on a button that would propel them up into the air and soon out of the atmosphere. She'd shut off the underbelly jets, letting the main boosters shoot them up into the air.

Once again, Halfnut was left holding onto the armrests for dear life from the sheer jump in speed, feeling the ship rattle as they started to break through the atmosphere. Lla Lla would grit her teeth and narrow her eyes in focus, as if she knew this ship was being held together by hopes and prayers. The two would soon relax as they made it back into the void, the ship no longer feeling like it might fall apart on them.

She'd fly a bit farther away, before finally slowing as she found a nice patch of space where she wouldn't hit anything. After a moment, she'd shut the boosters off completely, turning on the autopilot and unbuckling her seatbelt while she looked out the windshield peacefully.

Halfnut, on the other hand, had been shaken up far too much this time. He'd unbuckle his seatbelt and let out a quiet groan, clutching his stomach as he tried to get used to the complete motion stop.

Lla Lla, having heard his little noise, would look over to her passenger that now seemed to be a bit under the weather with no empathy in her eyes.

In fact, she seemed a bit disgusted by the simple fact that he didn't feel too good.

“Don't throw up in my cockpit. If you need to, I can show you where the bathrooms are. Otherwise, you'll be cleaning up your own puke.”

How compassionate of her.

He'd sigh softly, cradling his head in his free hand while he tried to recuperate. “N-Nah, nah, I-I'll be fine… You should stop flyin’ so damn crazy, though. Tha's what's makin’ me sick in the first place…”

Halfnut would try and focus on the distant stars visible through the windshield, wanting to drown out his nausea.

Once he finally felt better, and the two had been sitting in silence for a good while, he'd break the silence with a question.

“What're we doin’? Are we gonna do anythin’ t'day? Or are we jus’ gonna stare out the window all day?”

Lla Lla wouldn't respond at first, simply standing up and rubbing at a sore spot on her neck. Though, he hadn't gone unacknowledged.

“I can show you around my ship and give you the ground rules, but other than that, we won't be doing much today. I wanna take time to rest.”

Halfnut would stare at her silently, a little confused. Nothing to do today?

Sure, they just escaped a ship that got absolutely demolished, but they weren't going to do anything at all? Would she even talk to him outside of telling him what's necessary? Why couldn't they do something even remotely fun?

Of course, he wasn't going to bring it up for now. He was a guest on her ship, and she was not the type to have fun, from what he'd learned.

That didn't mean he was content with it.

Chapter Text

Lla Lla would be looking back at him expectantly, like she was waiting for him to stand up and follow her. He'd get up out of his seat once he got the cue, and she'd lead him through each room.

Some rooms were self explanatory, like the kitchenette which had a surprising lack of food other than raw meat with literal bites taken out of some chunks- which revealed her rather concerning diet choices -and the living room with a couch and a desk bolted to the ground near the window that had a holoputer set up on top of it.

Other rooms were more interesting, like Lla Lla's bedroom. The walls were a different color, having been sloppily painted over with chipping dandelion yellow paint that definitely wasn't meant to be used for metal. They were also covered in posters for different bands that Halfnut had never heard of, such as Catfish and the Bottlemen and Car Seat Headrest. They sounded very much like they were from Earth, if the names weren't enough evidence.

Now that he looked around, the entire room seemed to be filled with things from earth, such as a lava lamp, a pretty traditional looking twin size bed, a dresser with a bunch of assorted books and CDs on top of it, and a locked chest nearby the bed.

More noticeably, there was an incense burner meant to hold cone incense, but was instead being used to hold a half burnt cigarette. Either she didn't know a cigarette wasn't incense, or she just had weird taste.

Immediately when they stepped inside, Lla Lla would start laying down rules.

“This is my room. You won't be seeing it often, you won't have any reason to go in here, really. That chest? Don't open it. It's got my dad’s personal stuff in it.”

All this mention of her dad but not seeing him had already led Halfnut to believe that he had passed, but he was too curious to not get confirmation. “Yer dad… Is he gone?”

For a moment, Lla Lla would open her mouth to answer, but quickly stopped herself. Even after losing him so long ago, she wasn't used to saying it out loud.

“... Yeah.”

An awkward silence would linger for a moment, before the tour would continue on unannounced as Lla Lla quickly left the room. Halfnut would follow, wondering if maybe he had said something wrong and upset her. However, she still carried that cold expression on her face, as if she didn't care about what he'd said.

He almost would've believed it if her eyes didn't betray a bit of hurt behind them.

The new room they'd entered was a rather plain looking room, with a soft pink dresser on one side of the room and a twin size bed set right in the center. The entire room was covered in a blanket of dust, including the pink and white checkered comforter that lay on the bed.

This was clearly a little girl's room, one that hadn't been used in years. Perhaps it was her old bedroom, and the one she currently slept in used to be her father's…

“This will be your room until further notice. I need to wash the blanket and sheets, and I don't know when that's getting done, so you can always sleep on the couch.”

She'd move over to the small bed, hesitantly stripping the bed sheets from it.

Dust wasn't the only thing she was disturbing in the room, anyone could sense the memories that were being stripped away to make room for the stranger.

She'd set the bundle of fabric in the corner, as a little reminder to come back to it later. With that, the tour was abruptly over.

“Well, that's pretty much everything in the ship. You won't need to go down to the bottom cabin, it's mostly just storage.”

She'd then walk out of the room without another word, sitting herself down on the leather couch to face the empty space outside the window.

All this did was leave Halfnut confused. He hadn't really known what to expect, hopping onto someone's ship that he'd just met, but he hadn't expected the two of them to do absolutely nothing.

Not one meaningful conversation, no plans to do anything, absolutely nothing. She was just sitting there, staring at nothing. Was that just how she lived most of the days she had time to take a break from work?

Halfnut would go over to the couch, sitting on the opposite end of her. He wanted to at least get a better view into her life, as all he had seen so far was so… bleak.

“I know you said that t'day yer takin’ it slow after everythin’, but is there anythin’ you'd wanna really do? Y'know, like… Whaddya do fer fun?”

For fun? When did she ever do anything for fun? She tried to remember the last time she did anything for her own amusement, and nothing popped up in her head.

“I dunno. I don't really do anything for fun.”

Halfnut couldn't contain his shock, his eyebrows raising slightly. He had only ever heard of people like this in action media that made the main character an unfeeling killer, not once had he ever met someone that didn't do anything for fun.

Maybe she just couldn't come up with anything on the spot. Maybe she needed examples.

“You don’ do anythin’ fer fun? Not even, like, drinkin’? You don’ like startin’ a good fight, or hookin’ up wit people?” Lla Lla would grimace, a rather exaggerated reaction to his suggestions. She felt his idea of fun sounded like some of the most mind numbing activities ever.

“That doesn't sound fun in the slightest. I'm not very fun to be around when I'm drunk, so that's already off the table, and I don't wanna start fights or have sex with strangers. Hell, I don't wanna have sex with anyone!”

Halfnut had seen quite a few times that Lla Lla was very averse to sex, and he had been wondering why for a while. Lots of women with a job like hers were usually a little raunchy, but she was the complete opposite, and he was curious why.

“Why don't you like sex, anyway? Is perfectly natural, unless your kind don’ do that t’ have babies or whatever…”

Lla Lla would cross her arms, her tail starting to flick against the couch in slight annoyance. Just talking with him seemed to annoy her, yet she didn't tell him to shut up.

“I don't wanna be vulnerable like that. Too many bad things could happen if I let my guard down.”

Unable to control his teasing nature, Halfnut's mouth would already be moving before he could think twice.

“So, you jus’ don’ got someone t’ trust, huh? Well, maybe the two of us jus’ need t’ get t’ know each other a bit better…”

Lla Lla would growl at him, warning him to back down now. He'd been doing so good at not saying anything sexual to her in a while, and he just had to ruin it.

“Will you stop saying shit like that? I'm not gonna have sex with you, so drop it!”

Halfnut would back down pretty easily. Sometimes, he could be pretty spineless, especially when getting yelled at.

He was only starting to become more and more discontent with Lla Lla's hatred toward him. The two had only just met, yet she was acting like she'd had a gripe with him for years. They were already out of their original setting on the Eclector, and she wasn't being held captive. Maybe she just hated people in general.

Still, he didn't enjoy just sitting around on the ship doing absolutely nothing. He needed to strike up a conversation about something…

Then he remembered the picture he had seen in one of the pockets on her utility belt. An older looking Hispanic guy, probably in his 40’s at the time of the picture, wearing the same bomber jacket and goggles Lla Lla had been wearing, his hair greying at the roots with a short beard and mustache.

That had to be a picture of her dad, right? That's certainly a conversation starter.

“Y'know, I saw a picture on yer belt, some guy wit’ yer jacket. Was that yer dad?”

Lla Lla was a little surprised by the conversation change, but nothing other than a slight raise of the brow would indicate that. She'd reach a hand down to one of the pockets on her belt, unbuttoning it and pulling out the small, worn picture of the man. She'd carefully hold it out for Halfnut to take and look at.

While she gave a rather brief answer, there was a slight change in her usual monotone, something that showed she didn't hate all people. “Yeah, that's him…”

She'd watch him carefully, making sure he didn't soil her photo. After noticing her staring, he'd give the photo back, assuming she wanted it.

“You two look nothin’ alike. You interspecies or somethin’?”

Lla Lla would take a moment to look at the photo. Her and her dad truly looked nothing alike, especially since he was human.

She'd put the photo away, not wanting to linger too long on it. She didn't want to bring up those memories…
“That's what my dad told me. I wouldn’t be able to know for sure, since I never met my mom. She abandoned me and my dad after I was born, and he didn't keep any pictures of her, so…”

Halfnut would give a quiet hum of acknowledgement, unsure of what to say. Although he didn't want to admit it, he too knew what that was like.

He hadn't even noticed it until now, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that one of her legs was bouncing rapidly. Despite her unfeeling facade, she couldn't hide that she didn't want to get into this topic.

Lla Lla would dig into another pocket on her utility belt, pulling out the pack of nicotine gum that he had seen earlier and popping one into her mouth.

“You tryna quit…?”

Lla Lla would turn to Halfnut, a bit confused by his question.

“Quit what?”

“Y’know, smokin’? I saw the cig you had in yer room…”

Lla Lla would shake her head, her bouncing leg now starting to calm. “I've never smoked. I light those occasionally because they smell nice.”

That had to be one of the strangest reasons to own cigarettes. She really was lighting up whole sticks as incense, and got herself so addicted she kept nicotine gum on her. Even weirder was how she thought they smelled nice. He could maybe understand bonfire smoke, but cigarette smoke…? Not to mention that it's just not good for you.

As Halfnut kept his eye on Lla Lla, he'd start to notice little odd things. She couldn't seem to keep her head for long, occasionally shaking her head and straining her neck to try and keep from letting it fall against the back cushion of the couch. She'd also keep rubbing her eyes, and she held an expression of unease and exhaustion.

She was tired, but she wasn't letting herself rest.

He thought back to her comment about not wanting sex because she didn't want to be vulnerable. She didn't want to fall asleep and be vulnerable around him. He didn't blame her too much, seeing as he was still a stranger to her, but he did want to build some trust with her.

Maybe he just needed to be vulnerable with her first.

He'd reach his arms up to stretch, letting out a rather obvious fake yawn. That would get her attention, and she'd look over to him with a puzzled expression. What was he doing now?

He wasn't very good at hiding his intentions, especially not with that big, telling grin on his face.

“Y'know, if we ain't gonna talk 'bout anythin’ else interestin’, I'm jus’ gonna lay down and take a nap.”

Now came the rather strangely thought out part of his plan.

With how tall and lanky he was, there wasn't exactly a good way for him to lay on the couch without taking up a lot of space, so he instead wasn't shy about taking up all the space.

He'd start to lay down, sprawling out on the couch, and resting his head in Lla Lla's lap, using her thighs like a pillow. Lla Lla would tense up, utterly bewildered by how casual Halfnut was about literally laying on her. She'd try to push his head away.

“Get off me, I'm not a pillow. If you wanna lay down, go use the bed!”

Halfnut was unrelenting. He was determined to get her to accept the fact that he was here and she couldn't just ignore him, as well as that he wasn't going to be leaving her alone, either.

Instead, he'd wrap his arms around her waist, his cheek now pressed against her stomach slightly as he tried to keep his spot.

“I don’ wanna jus’ leave you by yer lonesome! You clearly haven’ had any company in a while, lemme stay!”

He'd bat his lashes dramatically as Lla Lla continued to try and separate his arms from her, his teasing now returning full force.

Eventually, Lla Lla would give up as Halfnut stubbornly stuck to her, sitting in her own discomfort from him simply touching her.

While Lla Lla tried to adjust to her predicament, Halfnut would be enjoying himself thoroughly.

Not only had he successfully made her acknowledge his company fully, he was also using this whole experiment as an excuse to hold her. He was still a man at heart, and he wanted to hold this beautiful woman who just so happened to hate being touched.

However, his experiment had somewhat failed. There was no way she was going to fall asleep now with him attached to her, that only seemed to keep her awake more as she stayed tense and vigilant.

On the bright side, he could still snuggle her, much to her disapproval…