Shenanigans!

[phaselocknroll]

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

[ It's a rarity, but every once in a while, the Guardians have downtime.

That is, some breathing space between assignments, ones they don't call for themselves. Sometimes they have to travel long distances for their jobs -- and in some cases, the time frame they're provided in conjunction with the distance they're traveling makes it impossible to pick up assignments in between. Currently, they're grinning and bearing it, flying out to pick up some researcher or other who had retreated to some fringe planet in some fringe system in the fringiest of fringe space.

On day one of three, Peter had done some much needed maintenance on his blasters. Given his penchant for punching people in the face with both the muzzle and the butt of the gun, it's little wonder how the alignment had been thrown out of whack. It takes most of the day, but he manages to get it to almost factory conditions, and he's rather proud of the accomplishment. He figures, with the next couple of days free, he can keep working on all the productive things that he's been putting off.

... Then he decides, no, screw that noise.

It's day two of three, and Peter is lying back on the bed, legs and feet up in the air and resting against the wall. For the past few minutes, he's been bouncing a ball against the bulkhead above his feet and catching it. Bounce, catch. Bounce, catch. Bounce, catch. Bounce, catch--

Then, he suddenly flops his arms out to either side of him on the bedspread and announces, ] Maya. I'm bored.

[phaselocknroll]

[ For her own part, Maya kind of enjoys the downtime. It gives her a chance to catch up on her reading.

She looks up from her book ]

I thought you said you had a whole list of things to do.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He immediately sneers. ]

Ugh, that stuff's even worse.

[ A beat, then, ]

Wanna make-out?

[phaselocknroll]

What, for the next two days? I don't think that's a viable way to pass the time.

[nostalgiabomb]

Well, no, not for the next two days.

And it's totally a viable way to pass time if you do it right.

[phaselocknroll]

Mmm, yeah. How about we think of something else?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He puffs air out between his lips. ]

Fiiine. Your loss, though.

How's your book?

[phaselocknroll]

It's all right. Not great, but I'll probably finish it eventually.

[ She blows a strand of hair away from her face. It's getting kind of unruly. Maybe she should get it cut finally. ]

No movies you wanted to watch or--?

[nostalgiabomb]

Nah. Not really in the mood.

[ He tilts his head a little when she blows hair from her face. ]

Man. Your hair's gettin' pretty long. How long are you gonna grow it out?

[phaselocknroll]

Honestly, I think I've about hit my limit. There's a reason I always kept it shorter.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He sits up properly at last, then moves to gather her hair behind her neck. ] Why not just tie it back?

[phaselocknroll]

Mm. What, like keep it in a ponytail?

[nostalgiabomb]

Or a braid. Or a bun, I dunno. [ As he's saying it, he's pulling his fingers through her hair idly, loosening what few tangles there are. ] Chicks have a lot of options, all I'm sayin'.

[phaselocknroll]

My hair's never been long enough to braid before. [ ohhhh that feels really good. She sets aside her book in favor of leaning into that ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He smiles a little, and the motions are automatic as he pulls her hair back, gently pulling the strands away from her face. ]

Well, it definitely is now. D'you know how to braid at all? 'Cause I can show you, if you want.

[phaselocknroll]

How do you know?

[nostalgiabomb]

I--

[ His hands slow down a little, and he clears his throat awkwardly. ]

Used to do this for Mom. She kept her hair pretty long, so sometimes, when she was busy with her hands, she'd-- ask me to do it for her.

[phaselocknroll]

[ She falls quiet for a long moment ]

Would you... would you braid mine?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He smiles a little. ]

Yeah, sure, if you want me to. Um-- probably need a hair tie, though. You got one, or should I grab one from Gamora?

[phaselocknroll]

She gave me a few when I grew my hair out initially.

[ and she leans over to grab one out of a nearby drawer, handing it to him ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He takes it from her, slipping it onto his wrist. ]

You, um. You might wanna read or something. [ He's running her fingers through her hair again, too lazy to get up and get a brush, clearly. ] It won't take long, but. Don't want you to get bored or anything.

[phaselocknroll]

Can you not talk and braid at the same time?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He starts separating her hair into sections, then hums. ]

Thought you were trying to power through your book?

[phaselocknroll]

The wonderful thing about books is that they don't go anywhere if you set them down for a while.

You could tell me a story. Or I could tell you one, I guess?

[nostalgiabomb]

Hmm.

[ He starts a simple braid, the movements surprisingly smooth despite lack of practice. ]

Man, do I even have any stories you haven't heard? Feel like I've already told you all the good ones.