A/N - This should be a six-chapter story if all goes as planned, but I do have a habit of getting carried away so we'll see. I'll aim to update as quickly as I can :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Upon staring down a rival band of Ravagers in the chaos of his own mess hall, Yondu realises that a bout of infighting is long overdue.

It's only been two hours since their guests arrived in good faith, bearing terms of a trade and enough ale to keep every man onboard satisfied. However, all negotiations have long since devolved into an exchange of vulgarities, the simmering tension between the two Ravager factions bolstered by alcohol, and as Yondu takes in the bloodthirsty expression on the other Captain's face, he knows it won't be long before bodies start piling up.

He supposes he should have guessed such an outcome was possible. They've had Peter for several months now, which means Ego's likely contacted traders throughout the galaxy, offering a handsome reward for whoever brings him his son. The other band of Ravagers first contacted Yondu earlier in the week with an offer to exchange stolen goods. They'd deliberately left out the part that those goods included Peter until the majority of both crews were royally drunk and itching for a fight.

Yondu coldly informing them that the kid would never be part of any deal had set them off like a bomb. Blasters had quickly been unleashed from red coats on both sides, and he was now stuck in a stare-down with his rivals' captain, Jax; a hideous Xandarian with greasy black hair and a white scar travelling down one side of his face. The grin the man is wearing would be unnerving were Yondu not flashing one of his own, though any hope for his cockiness to be anything more than a front is vanquished the moment he remembers he doesn't have his arrow on him. Some form of naivety had assured him he wouldn't need it as their guest's ship approached, and though he mentally calls to it with all the concentration he can muster, he can feel it struggling within its locked metal casing and losing.

That'll remind him not to be such an idiot in future. It's starting to look like having a kid around is softening him.

The boy's nowhere to be seen, though he had been feasting with the others at the start of the proceedings. Hopefully he's been smart enough to hide himself away in a vent or some corner of the ship too small for grown men to find; well enough away that any scouts Jax sent out don't have a hope of finding him. For all his skills in the thieving department, Peter has virtually zero experience in combat besides what little Yondu's been able to teach him about shooting, and the kid's scrappiness won't be enough to save him if any of their assailants find him.

He certainly won't survive long if they manage to get him to Ego.

Jax licks his lips gleefully as if unaware of the blasters pointed his way, before sauntering over to Yondu with his own gun lowered. He's trying to appear friendly, forgiving, and if the tension had arisen for any reason besides Peter then perhaps Yondu would have indulged him with a warm laugh. The man's too motivated by the sheer quantity of units Ego's promised to be dissuaded, however, which means he's only getting off the Eclector with the kid in his grasp or as a body left to freeze in space.

Yondu's hoping for the latter.

"What do ya say, my friend?" Jax says warmly as he approaches Yondu, close enough to clap him on the shoulder. The warmth in his smile isn't genuine enough to meet his icy grey eyes, however. "All we wan' is the kid. We'll even let ya keep everythin' else you was gonna give us. Hell, if yer really accomodatin', we'll let you in on Ego's share. Word is, he's offerin' thrice what he was payin' you."

Yondu spits at the name of that megalomaniac, and guilt that he once tried to ignore comes pouring back as he remembers the kids he delivered to the man before finally coming to his senses. Even saving Peter isn't enough of a redemption if Ego's simply found others willing to hand his kids to the slaughter.

"I ain't dealin' with that jackass no more," he tells Jax plainly, not bothering to suppress his grin at the obvious disappointment on the captain's face. "An' I certainly ain't givin' you the boy. So I'd suggest y'all leave my ship while yer still breathin', unless you'd prefer I let my boys shoot ya."

Jax sighs and shakes his head, before raising his own blaster to Yondu's chest. The air stirs as the clicks of safeties being removed echoes across the hall, and all Yondu can do is wonder how much time they have left before the bloodbath starts. Considering he's unarmed, he can't see himself coming out of such a situation in one piece.

Time slows and the hall quietens to the extent that one can hear a pin drop. This turns out to be a godsend.

Yondu hears something light clatter across the floor to his left, and when he mentally reaches out, the arrow flies to his side obediently in a flash of crimson. His grin widens as he takes in the sudden terror lacing the features of every man facing him – that greyness that comes with knowing death is near – and he indulges in the beauty of Jax's smugness being wiped cleanly from his face before he lets out a high whistle.

Red flashes across the room in an elegant thread, and the members of his crew who had been obediently showing restraint mere seconds ago are now firing their blasters with abandon. Jax swears loudly before throwing himself to the floor and ducking behind one of the tables, but Yondu ignores him in favour of skewering what remains of his crew before they can come to their senses and start firing off shots themselves. The odd blast that is let loose doesn't seem to hit any targets, but he can still feel the fierce burn every time one flies just a little too close for comfort and it's enough to tell him that he needs to wrap this up as soon as possible.

The slaughter is interrupted by a sound Yondu had hoped not to hear, but should have expected upon his arrow's magical appearance in the hall. Jax, mad-eyed and bleeding from a fresh scratch across his face, emerges from beneath a table with a struggling Peter locked in his arms, the kid yelling wordlessly like a caged animal.

The yelling stops quickly enough when Jax straightens and presses his blaster against the boy's skull, gifting Yondu with a victorious smirk.

"Looks like I found yer brat," he says breathlessly, flinching as Yondu calls his arrow to his side so that it's now aimed directly at the Ravager captain's head. One whistle is all that's needed to finish this, but it seems that idea has also occurred to Jax.

"Don' you dare do anythin' with that thing!" Jax says, frantically pointing the blaster in Yondu's direction before returning it to Peter's skull. Yondu ignores the evident fear in his manner to focus on the boy in his arms, who's white as a sheet but otherwise oddly calm as he fixes Yondu with something that might be trust (and gods, the kid's truly doomed if he's resorted to trusting Yondu). "I don' care 'bout Ego's reward, if you move so much as a muscle you'll be cleanin' the kid off the floor by mornin'."

"I'll be cleanin' you up too," Yondu says, trying to maintain the high ground even as Jax's threat leads to the sensation of something coiling in his gut. He knows he can fire the arrow before Jax even has a chance to think, but the man's grip on the trigger is so tight that killing him risks it being pulled reflexively. "Why don' ya just put the kid down an' be on yer merry way? Ya must know that's the only way you'll be walkin' outta here alive. Unless yer tha' desperate to join the rest a' yer crew?"

The fear clinging to Jax is almost palpable now. It's clear how desperately he doesn't want to die, which would be enough to make Yondu regret that that's exactly what's about to happen regardless of his next move, if he weren't threatening Peter.

He looks back to the kid, who seems preoccupied with fishing something out of his pocket, and suppresses a grin when he sees a copy of the keys to his own room and chest dangling from his belt.

Yondu will have to berate Peter for stealing them later, but for now he's grateful.

"How can I trust ya?" Jax asks, looking around at all his men lying dead on the ground before returning his attention to Yondu. "I let the kid go an' you'll jus' kill me!"

"Perhaps," Yondu says, aiming for calm though his silent rage threatens to simmer over. "Bu' what other choice do ya have?"

Jax studies him with wild grey eyes, his entire frame trembling and cool sweat dripping from his brow. At Yondu's back, he can hear the slowly growing rumble of his crew baying for blood - most uncaring over whether Peter gets hurt in the process or not - and he knows it'll only be a matter of seconds before a conclusion presents itself.

Sure enough, Jax swears loudly before shakily aiming his blaster at Yondu, but before it can be brought to full height, he's yowling in pain and fresh red springs free from a cut across his arm.

The surprise and pain from Peter slashing him with his knife is enough to force Jax to loosen his grip, and as soon as the kid's feet hit the floor he leaps up to push the man's other arm away, forcing the blaster away from Yondu and giving him the perfect opening. Yondu allows himself a small smirk before letting loose one final whistle, and Jax's cries are silenced as his head is thrown back by the force of the arrow embedding itself in his eye. He remains standing for several seconds, confusion marking his features before it's replaced with a sickening blankness, before he crashes brokenly onto the floor.

The tension is shattered as the Ravagers at Yondu's back roar with victory despite having done very little, but he has little focus to give them for now. Instead he watches as Peter shakily rises to full-height, the adrenaline of the situation starting to wear off, and looks down at the dead man on the floor as he pockets his knife. He peels his eyes away only when Yondu gives a high whistle, recalling the arrow back to him and wiping the gore on his sleeve.

The kid looks shaken and more than a little grey, but he returns a smile when Yondu grins and has enough wits about him to pick up the discarded blaster before offering it to the captain.

"Nah, keep it," Yondu says, dismissing the offer with a wave of his hand. The surprise that glows in the kid's green eyes isn't lost on him, but he doesn't mention it. "Bout time ya had one o' yer own, seein' as I'm meant to be teachin' ya how to use it. So long as ya remember the most important rule."

"Safety off?" Peter asks, his lips quirking in a smile as the ghost of fear starts to leave him behind.

"Yeah, kid," Yondu laughs, before clapping him on the back appreciatively. "Safety off and a steady hand. S'all ya need."

He doesn't get the chance to say much else before they're swarmed by excitable crewmates, and Peter yelps in surprise when he's lifted onto Kraglin's shoulders and surrounded by men who on any other day would be threatening to eat him. A proud chant of the boy's name rings throughout the hall and Yondu guffaws at the confusion on his face before turning back to the dead captain.

It's strange to think that mere minutes ago, Jax had had the upper hand. Not that some of his crew couldn't have made it out alive, but Yondu almost certainly wouldn't have without his arrow by his side, and all he'd had to defend himself were his words. Perhaps that would have been enough, perhaps not, but there is little doubt that his job was made a lot easier by Peter going off in search of his arrow and bringing it to him when needed.

The kid's instinct upon sensing that a fight was near was to sneak off and ensure his captain was armed, rather than hide in terror. In coming back to the fray to deliver the arrow he'd put his own life at risk, but in the end his actions had ensured them a victory against drunk assholes who wouldn't otherwise be reasoned with.

Not bad for a nine-year-old.

Yondu looks back to his crew – to the kid – and tries to ignore the pride burning in his chest. Or at the very least, tries to chalk it up to the fact that the kid's proving himself to have the makings of an excellent Ravager, and not as a sign that he's starting to grow attached. It wouldn't do to show favouritism to the boy and earn himself a mutiny.

Still, he supposes he can join in on the celebrations at least, before the necessity to clean up their mess has a chance to sink in.

The kid's earned himself his first round of Kraglin's renowned ale after all.