WHO: Gamora and Evie WHAT: After her return WHERE: Their house WHEN: Today WARNINGS: IW Spoilers STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Being back in Madison Valley was a strange feeling. When she’d been here before, Gamora had hated it. She’d wanted to return to her life, to the world that she knew and understood. Now...well...she had nothing to return to except her own death, which couldn’t help but make her feel a little more comfortable here. Peter was here, Groot was here...and Evie and Jay were here, who were very quickly becoming just as much family as the others. She still missed Drax and Rocket, but maybe they’d show up sometime. It could always happen here.
After having an early (and emotional) dinner with Peter, Jay and Evie, she followed the younger girl to her room and leaned against the doorframe. She wasn’t going to come in if Evie didn’t want her to, but she did want to talk to her.
“Hey,” she said, getting her attention. “Everything okay?”
Of course it hadn’t been, just a few hours before. But she hoped it was now.
***
Evie had been really, really worried about her mom, especially after her dad had come home first, utterly distraught. She'd never seen Peter that broken before and she'd just wanted them to go back to being a happy family again. Dinner had been... a lot. Intense and overwhelming and Evie really wanted to sneak out and crawl into bed with Warren because at least that was normal. This was just...a lot.
She honestly hadn't even realized her mom had followed her upstairs because that was how off she was feeling now. "I just missed you," Evie replied. She sat down on her bed and picked at her skirt. "Dad was a wreck and I- I just wasn't-" But she couldn't say anything else. She just couldn't admit that she might've lost the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.
***
“It’s okay now. What happened doesn’t matter. We’re all here now and we’re together, and we’re a family.”
Family was something that none of them had ever really known, and they’d created one together. Maybe it was a little unorthodox, but Groot, Jay, Evie and Peter were as much her family now as their crew had been back home.
“I’m sorry,” she said, because she knew the girl had suffered. She hadn’t meant for anything to happen, she hadn’t meant to leave. But she had, and it had hurt Evie.
“What can I do to help?”
***
"It does matter," Evie replied with a burst of anger. "You're going back to it!" Even though they were safe in Madison Valley, eventually they'd be sent home. That was how it went and if something bad was going to happen to Peter and Gamora the next time they had to go home, then there was a risk they wouldn't come back.
She'd been doing her best to keep everything together that she hadn't really had a chance to let things out for herself. Evie'd confided some in Warren, but her main focus had been on Jay, and then on her Dad and now her Mom was back. It was just a lot. But there wasn't anything anyone could do and she knew that so she sighed and laid back on her bed.
"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. It's the dome."
***
“I know,” she said, still lingering in the doorway and giving Evie space if she needed it. “But I’m still sorry. I’m sorry for all of it.” Both for the pain she’d caused Evie and Jay and for the mistakes she’d made back home. She still blamed herself for not being able to keep the location of the soul stone secret. She should have been stronger.
She didn’t speak for a long moment, as she watched Evie.
“I wish I could promise that it won’t happen again, but I can’t. That’s part of Madison Valley we all have to accept. It doesn’t care about what we want.”
***
Evie knew all of these things. She was just wallowing and feeling sorry for herself, which just wasn’t productive. She knew that too, so she took a deep breath and sat up again.
“What matters is that you’re back,” Evie decided. “And we’re going to make the most of it.” No ifs, ands, or buts about it because what they were going back to? It wasn’t good.
She shifted a little on the bed so that there was obvious room for two. Evie wasn’t going to ask, not outright anyway. Normally she had no problem with it, but they’d never been in this kind of situation before.
***
Gamora took the hint, though, and came and sat beside Evie on her bed. She hated that this had happened, that they were all dealing with the trauma of back home. Even the people who weren’t from back home.
“That’s right. That’s what Peter told me when I came back. This is our home now. This is where we belong, and this is where our life is. What happens back home doesn’t matter as long as we’re here, and there’s really no point in worrying about things that might or might not happen.” Like going home.
“We’re a family. And we’re going to stick together like a family as long as we can.”
***
As soon as Gamora was next to her, Evie wrapped her arms around her mom’s middle and rested her head against her shoulder. Her parents had protected her in Madison, had come to rescue her when Jefferson had kidnapped her, and then they’d been gone. It was going to take some time for them to put this behind them, but she was confident that they would be able to get back to some semblance of normal.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she murmured softly. Evie hasn’t felt safe without them. “Now I can finish the clothes I was working on for you.”
***
Gamora hugged her back, tightly. She hated that trust had been broken at such an important time, but she hadn’t done it on purpose, and certainly wouldn’t have chosen to do it if she’d had the choice. If she could have avoided living through the nightmare that going home had been, she would have.
Well, it wasn’t entirely a nightmare, she supposed. She’d fallen in love for the first time in her life and had spent a good amount of time in that relationship. She didn’t regret that, not even a little. But everything else? It had been a nightmare that she was going to try everything she could to forget.
“The clothes you’re making for me?” She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to try to dress me to seduce Peter anymore, you know.”
***
Evie rolled her eyes, even though it was very likely her mom didn’t see that part. “You should always be impressing your boyfriend,” she corrected, “but it was more so you’d have something you liked that you could also fight in.” She’d commented once that the fashion here didn’t suit her, so Evie had been quietly working on a full wardrobe for her.
“I’m glad you and Dad got to have time together when you were gone.” Although given how painful it had been for Peter when he’d come back, she wasn’t so sure if it was really a good thing or not. Evie was just glad they were back now.
***
Gamora was pretty sure that Peter was more impressed when she didn’t have clothes on at all, but decided not to share that fact with Evie. Some things were best not shared with your daughter.
“If you say so,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind some clothes more like what I have back home. Durable things I can fight in.” Jeans were okay, but they didn’t give her the protection that leather did.
“And we did. It wasn’t all bad. Not until the end.” From the moment Thor had nearly splattered himself in their windshield, things had been pretty terrible.
***
"Then I'll work on finishing them up this week," she promised. Evie knew she'd need the sense of normalcy so they likely would be done sooner rather than later. There'd been a lot of leatherwork in her repertoire just because of who she and her friends were, but it was certainly coming in handy now. She wondered if maybe she should make some stuff for her dad, too.
"The end is always the worst," Evie agreed. The end of the story meant the villain got banished and it usually meant something terrible had happened to their parents. Sure, maybe they'd deserved it, but villains didn't know any better. There was a reason Evie had been so invested in things in Auradon going well, because she didn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. She knew she was better than that.
"Dad wasn't doing so good without you." She wasn't sure if that had been obvious or not.
***
Gamora had assumed that her death would be hard on Peter. He’d lost so many people in his life that he’d loved and cared about, and she hated so much adding to that. It had been one of the worst parts of knowing she was going to die. Peter liked to act like he didn’t care but she knew him better than that. And the part of him that she loved was the part that cared all too much.
“I’m not surprised,” she said softly. “It’s not fair, what happened. For either of us.”
They’d both searched for all their lives for someone to really care about and then they’d only had each other a short time before it was ripped away in the worst way possible.
“We should do something with my room. Maybe something for you and Jay.”
She didn’t need it anymore, after all. She planned to stay with Peter.
***
“Life is never fair to people like us.” It sucked, but it was a fact of life. An unfortunate fact, but a fact all the same. “But you have time here. That’s what’s important.” Evie had to focus on the future at hand, otherwise she would lose her mind.
At the mention of turning Gamora’s room into something else, Evie hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe something with a pullout couch so that way Carlos can stay over whenever he wants.” Since he still didn’t have a guardian as far as she knew. She also needed to apologize to him, to get square with him again. “Nice tv, some video game consoles. Maybe a place for me to do my sewing so it doesn’t have to be in my room...” Evie trailed off and then grinned.
“So that means you’re staying with dad on the regular?”
***
“Well, I’ll have to talk to him. Make sure he doesn’t mind sharing his space.” None of them had very much space on the ship and they’d grown rather used to sharing it. Maybe he would like to keep his own space. She didn’t like having a room of her own. It gave her too much time to lay awake in the darkness and think and it was never of anything good. That was why she’d been sneaking to Peter’s room so often even before they’d gone home and things had developed between them. The nightmares had started it and it had just been so much more comfortable and she’d slept so much better...even if she did wake up with Peter’s hand on her butt sometimes.
Honestly, she’d kind of liked that, too.
“But if he’s okay with it, we can make that room into whatever you want. Talk with Jay and your friends and let us know what you want.”
She fully intended to give them whatever they wanted, as long as it was in reason financially.
***
“I don’t think he’s going to mind,” Evie replied, but it wasn’t teasing. It was just the truth. After how emotionally wrecked he had been when he’d first arrived back in Madison, Evie didn’t doubt that he’d want to keep Gamora close. Even if they weren’t dating or married or whatever, they were together in all the ways that mattered.
“I’ll talk to Jay and see what he wants to do while you talk to dad. And then I’ll mention it to Mal and Carlos.” Because it was going to be a space for the four of them, regardless of who any of them were dating.
***
“Good. And your friend...Carlos? If he needs a Guardian…” Gamora waved her hand, making it clear that if he needed a place to stay, he was always welcome here. It was weird to be a guardian in this sense, in some ways. In other ways, it felt completely natural and what they were supposed to be doing. Peter had always taken in strays in a way, and she’d kind of fallen into that when she’d become one of them.
She smiled, and took a step forward to hug Evie. The girl wasn’t that much younger than her, really, but she still felt motherly towards her. She just couldn’t help it.
“I’m glad to be back,” she said. “And I’m glad you and Jay and the others are still here.”
***
“He knows he's welcome," Evie replied, "he's just. Well. We're still a little on the outs and I'm trying not to push." She'd pushed already and that was how she'd ended up in this situation to begin with so she was doing her best to not make the same mistakes twice. "I don't know if living together will make that any better, and Groot hates us plenty already. Adding in Carlos won't make that any better either."
She was always trying to make sure that everyone else was happy and cared for, which often meant she didn't take the time to take care of herself. Evie knew she needed to get better at that. It was just going to take some time.
Evie hugged her mom back tightly. "We're going to stay together for a long time," she decided. Regardless of whatever the dome threw at them, they were going to be a family.
***
“Whatever you decide,” Gamora said with a nod. “But he’ll always be welcome.” She didn’t know the complications of the situation so she’d leave that to Evie, but she wanted her to know that the door was always open.
She hugged her back, feeling a little strange doing it. But it felt right, too. The last few years had really chipped away at her walls, and being here with Evie and Jay was doing a good job of finishing the job.
“What do you say we go downstairs and get some ice cream?”
***
Evie appreciated that she didn't push. She was 17 after all, basically an adult, so it was nice to know that she could be trusted to speak up if she needed parental guidance. It spoke volumes about the relationship she had with both Gamora and Peter, and why they were the best choice of guardians for her, and for Jay and Groot.
Plus, the ice cream didn't hurt either. "Yea, I could go for some ice cream." It'd give her something to work off with Warren later, though Evie wasn't about to talk to her mom about that. Some things were better left unsaid. She stepped out of the hug and then looped her arm in Gamora's as they headed downstairs. Just taking a few minutes for the two of them was helpful.