Lines | Guardians of the Galaxy |

Chapter Fifteen

Avenna doesn't stick around for much longer after that. She leaves and goes down below the cockpit, then throws herself onto her bunk and heaves a sigh, burying her face into the pillow. She turns her head slightly so she's facing the wall, lying on her stomach as she lifts her arms up to rest under the pillow.

It's quiet for a few minutes, but then Quill's music begins to play through the speakers. It's not very loud, thank goodness.

I can't stop this feeling deep inside of me.

She rolls over onto her back and lifts her legs so that her hind paws are hooked on the metal supporters for the top bunk so she's bent at a weird angle. It's mostly for entertainment purposes.

Girl, you just don't realize what you do to me.

Avenna wasn't sure what to think of this song; she'd heard it before but didn't know if she liked it or hated it yet.

"Hey, grapefruit." The fox had heard and smelled him coming, but the sound of his voice surprised her a bit.

"Grapefruit?" Avenna lifts her head up slightly to look at him. "That's a new one."

He shrugs. "Terran fruit. You're orange and so is it."

"Next up you'll be calling me 'orange chicken,'" Avenna chuckles. "That's what Drax called me when we first met."

She feels him sit down on the bed beside her, his legs not long enough to reach the floor.

"Did you need something?" she asks.

"No," he says in a surprisingly defensive tone. They sit in silence for a minute or two until he speaks again. "You've got scars."

"Yeah?" Avenna questions.

"No, like, I mean, not battle scars. Like... deliberate ones. On your back and chest."

Her blood goes cold.

"And there are some metal, too," he continues. "They're—"

"Stop," she commands and he does. "That's... not important."

"I've got 'em, too," Rocket says. The fox rolls over so that her back is facing him, but her fur prickles underneath her clothes.

"Don't show me," she says in a low tone. "Please."

"I won't." There's a faint ruffling noise and Avenna's ears rotate to face him, her tail twitching slightly. He doesn't push the subject, much to her relief.

"Do the words they say hurt you?" Avenna asks, rolling back over so she's facing him. "The insults. When they call you things like rodent, vermin, you know."

"No," he replies. "I don't care what they say."

The fox sits up and gives him a sad look. "I know that's not true," she whispers.

"Do they hurt you?"

Avenna takes a breath, feeling the effect of those words. She gets a glimpse of the defensiveness that he surely just felt. "No," she lies, and then knows that she has to provide an explanation to support the false statement. "I've got a good sense of self so I don't really worry about that."

Two lies in one go. She was actually very insecure about a lot of things. Her appearance, her background, and especially how well she contributed to things. She didn't care for a long while, but then she met Drax, and then the rest of the group.

Rocket is silent for a long moment, and they both stare at the floor, neither of them saying a word.

"I'm sorry," Avenna said after a long moment. "About Groot. At least he's still alive. And I'm sorry for getting upset about his choice of leaving me, not yours. He saved us."