future reincarnation au

[quinientos]

If you'd asked him why he'd decided to sneak onto Quill's ship and take one of the trinkets lining up the dashboard, Vasquez would be hard-pressed to give any answer outside of, 'because people said it couldn't be done', and maybe he's been an outlaw and a thief long enough to want to prove people wrong. Maybe, also, he's got a bit of a respectable admiration for the things he's heard Quill is responsible for and so getting his hands on something of his had been a goal of his.

Lucky for him, the in and out of the ship is a quick thing, and Vasquez pockets the little trinket with no one the wiser, having to convince himself not to take anything else while he's there. Whatever admiration he has for Quill (and there's reasons he swears he can't put his finger on, but they're there), he can't be too obvious. So he pockets the trinket and he moves on to the next solar system.

Vasquez finds himself the dirtiest, most awful bar, where no one will care about an outlaw drinking amongst them because they're just as crooked. Only when he's deep in his cups does he pull out the strange little trinket, an old-world Earthen cowboy figurine that he's been drawn to. Maybe it's because Vasquez likes the fashion and tries to emulate it.

Maybe it's because he has dreams about the West.

Or maybe it's just because it'd been the first thing he saw. No matter, all that he cares about now is the fact that he's gotten away with it (or so he thinks, but right now, at this point, with a little more ale burning his throat, he hasn't got any reason to think he's a failure).

That time? It will come later.

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[thestarlord]

There's not a lot that Peter can call his own anymore. He's been with the Ravagers since his mother died and they'd moved from place to place, dirty hole to dirty hole. The few things that Peter calls his own are the things that come from Earth and remind him of home - his Walkman, his tapes, his handful of t-shirts and figurines.

His ship is a mess but he knows as soon as he walks in that it's gone. He'd kept that cowboy figurine as a reminder of Earth and all the times he'd wanted to go back and been told no and now it's gone.

It takes him a while to track down the culprit but when he does, he doesn't waste any time cornering him in a seedy bar on some planet halfway across the galaxy.

"Hey, asshole," he says, using his body to corner the guy enough that getting away won't be easy. "You've got something of mine."

[quinientos]

Vasquez had really been enjoying his drink, although, the truth is, he also kind of enjoys seeing Quill stalking into the bar from the reflective mirrors, sipping the bottle absently. The figurine is safely tucked away in his pocket, but he should have figured he'd be caught up to.

He'd ignored that reputation, but, well, maybe because he didn't mind being found, this time. "Don't even know you," Vasquez replies, giving Quill a long onceover, considerately, like he's sizing him up for more than just whether he can take him in a fight. He pays for his drink, though, figuring he's not going to make it to a second.

"If that's a pick-up line, it could use work," he retorts, figuring that if he bullshits enough, maybe he can end up keeping the little figurine that reminds him so much of his dreams.

[thestarlord]

Peter snorts a bit and shakes his head, annoyed at the fact that this thief would say it was a pick-up line when it's clearly a threat. Still, he's used to things being uphill for him and if the guy just handed over the figure with no fight, it would seem suspicious.

"You know it's not a pick-up line," he drawls. "Now, where did you put it? I know you probably haven't sold it. It's not even worth anything."

[quinientos]

Vasquez keeps a completely blank face as he swivels on his stool, legs spread apart. His hat is sitting on the table behind him, along with a few credits, but his gun is in his holster, and so's the lasso. "Put what?" he echoes, feigning the ignorance because he's not going to make this so easy.

"Guero, I have no idea what you're talking about," he continues. "Like I said, I don't even know you, you don't know me." Better, it's not like Quill can prove that their ships had been in the same area, docking, giving Vasquez the opportunity to root through Quill's ship.

[thestarlord]

“I saw you lingering around my ship,” Peter says, voice spiking up in anger. He knows this guy was on his ship and he knows he took the damn cowboy figurine. It’s not even worth anything except to him.

“It’s worth something to me. My mother gave it to me when I was young and I want it back.” This is more information than he wants to give but maybe it means he’ll fork it over.

[quinientos]

Well, if that's the case, then Vasquez has been slipping. He'd thought the bustle of the area would keep him hidden, but it turns out that maybe he doesn't have the skills he used to when it comes to this. He also didn't know that it had sentimental value.

Of course, that's if he believes it. "You're Peter Quill, yes?" he clarifies, seeing as he doesn't want to admit guilt or hand it over, so he thinks changing the subject is good too. "If you really think I have it, you could try and take it back. Aren't you good at that?"

[thestarlord]

Peter snorts a little. He is good at stealing things, especially when he's being paid to do it, but does he really want to steal his own shit back? Not if he doesn't have to. He tips his head toward the guy.

"Why don't I buy you a drink and you just put it on the bar and we call it square?"

[quinientos]

"Buy me a drink and then we'll see how good it is, then I can tell you again that I don't know what you're talking about," Vasquez blithely replies. The truth is, now that he thinks about it, he thinks it might actually be back on his own ship, but he's not going to turn down a drink.

Especially not from someone who's probably the handsomest person Vasquez has set eyes on for ages. Or maybe that's just his strange dreams confusing him, because he could swear someone with Quill's face has been in them, just not with that name.

"Buy something good, guero."

[thestarlord]

Peter decides on two whiskeys, neat, and pushes one over to Vasquez once the bartender brings them over. "This is from the Sovereign homeworld, I think, so it's probably perfect and annoyingly good at what it does. Gold-skinned assholes, all of them but they know liquor."

Peter sips at his and the burn of it tells him that it's quality, at least, so the bartender hadn't been lying about the source. Definitely Sovereign.

[quinientos]

He's already feeling pretty good about this little meeting that's happened coincidentally (or expectedly, seeing as it's not like Vasquez had expected to get away with the stealing for that long). Sipping the whiskey without breaking eye contact, Vasquez decides that maybe a show of good faith deserves one in turn.

"When I saw the figure on your dash, it reminded me of my dreams," Vasquez admits, not putting it out on the table just yet. "It's been one I can't shake, not since I was a child."

[thestarlord]

That's actually not the answer Peter was expecting and it gives him pause for a moment. He never really thinks about anyone having a motive other than pull one over on him and someone stealing something for sentimental value - something he attaches sentimental value to - he can almost respect.

"Huh. It's something my grandpa gave me when I was a kid," he explains. "One of the few things I have left from Earth. It's not the most meaningful thing I have but it's pretty meaningful so I just...keep it. Have you ever even seen a cowboy before?"

[quinientos]

Vasquez snorts and gives Quill an amused look. "Before I took off and joined up with a crew, my family could track back to the cowboys back on Earth. I just never had anything I brought with me. I take some of the style, though." It's not really exact, with his button-down shirt and the khakis, but the hat and the guns.

Those are definitely from a time he thinks about.

Digging out the figuring from his belt, he holds it just out of reach, giving Quill a smirk. "So, if you want it back so much, is a drink all I'm going to get from you tonight?"

[thestarlord]

Peter huffs lightly. "What rumors have you heard?" He's not above flirting to get what he wants and, sometimes, doing a little more than that but he has to wonder how this guy knows what Peter's willing to give up in pursuit of a good time and a trinket for a souvenir.

"I hope they're all terrible and absolutely true."

[quinientos]

What would insult him more? Would it be that Vasquez has never heard of him? That he's heard rumours, but they're all cheerful and lovely? Or should he just be honest about it. "I've heard some things about you when it comes to finding things," Vasquez admits, sliding the cowboy to the bar so he can place it between them.

It's a show of faith, but there is a look on his face that shows that he really is going to miss the little thing. It's a connection to a life and a past he doesn't understand, to those strange feelings he gets.

"You're sure you and I, we never met?" he wonders, suspiciously.

[thestarlord]

Peter traces his index finger along the edges of the little figurine, leaving it there on the table between them for the time being. It seems to be the only thing tethering him here for right now, after all, so he's loathe to pocket it and move on when he's got other things to ask.

"I'm pretty sure I would remember someone as pretty as you are, Cowboy," Peter says wryly. "So that's going to be a no. Maybe I just have one of those faces?"

[quinientos]

That spark that rushes through him is something very promising, making Vasquez half-want to yank that figure back in his pocket so he can solicit more compliments like that one, because he definitely knows there's something there.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "No, I could swear you're there, in my dreams." Now that he's said it, he hears how embarrassing that sounds, and he wrinkles his nose, grimacing. "That's not a pick up line."

[thestarlord]

Peter frowns a little as he tries to work that out. While he's still not sure it isn't a pickup line, the way the guy says it is just insistent enough that he has to believe it. It reminds him of the way his mother always told him that his father had come from the stars - crazy, but utterly convinced of it.

"And uh, dream me," Peter starts carefully. "Looks exactly the same? Sounds the same?"

[quinientos]

It's not like Vasquez remembers each detail about the dream, but the truth is that it's somewhat similar. "Not so nice looking," he says bluntly, but he means that literally. The dream version of Quill that's always there is dirty and dusty and sweaty, which Vasquez isn't saying he dislikes, but that's the truth of it.

"More of an accent, though not like mine," he adds, eyeing him critically.

[thestarlord]

Peter narrows his eyes a bit, trying to think that one through. A less good-looking version of himself with an accent popping up in this guy's dreams? Is it a fantasy or is it some kind of weird reality? He has no idea.

"Uh huh. And how long have you been having these...dreams?"

[quinientos]

"Since I could remember?" Vasquez works on his drink as he leans back against the bar, absently letting his foot slide against Quill's so that it's just barely present. He's not sure that he should be getting into bed with a thief like this, but he also doesn't exactly do a good job of thinking with his brain, sometimes.

This being one of those times. "Probably since I was a teenager, more realistic. After all, they were very sexy dreams, sometimes."

[thestarlord]

Peter chokes on his drink for a second and while he doesn't want to show he's surprised, he's surprised. This guy has been dreaming about him since he was a teenager and it was...sex dreams? Really?

"Uh...uh huh. Well you haven't shown up in my dreams," Peter says. He barely resists adding do you want to at the end and just traces the rim of his glass.

"Sex dreams? Really?"

[quinientos]

Vasquez is actually a little impressed, maybe because he hasn't had a reaction like that in a long time and he's a little proud of it, honestly. Shrugging, he doesn't take his eyes off Quill. "I mean, I think so, they're very strange. There's a lot of heat and I know that there's arguing."

The kind of arguing Vasquez knows stands in place for something else, but it's like it's all a room away, somewhere that he hasn't got the key for. "I mean, could just be I have a type and you're similar to it."

[thestarlord]

Peter grins a little. "I'm a lot of people's type, you know. Just didn't expect you to come walking in an announcing I was yours."

It's been a while since he's been hit on by anyone and while he's not sure if it's worked just yet, this guy's style tops even Peter's own. Hmm.

"Never had a guy who said I was in his dreams, though. That's a good one."

[quinientos]

Vasquez snorts as he pushes the cowboy over to him with a last sigh, seeing as he didn't think thieving it would last forever, but he'd had high hopes that maybe it would at least be his for a little while longer. "I think you have a very high opinion of yourself, guero, and I didn't announce it."

"I just said maybe there were some dreams," he says, knocking back the rest of his drink so that he can enjoy looking at him a little more, absently twirling his glass as he stares at him.

[thestarlord]

"Maybe. You were totally talking about dreaming about me," Peter says, satisfied that maybe he's got this mysterious guy's number after all. He has no idea where he came from or why he'd be featuring in his dreams but he has a hook now that he can keep pursuing.

"Was I as ruggedly handsome as I am in person?"

[quinientos]

"I was," he admits, grinning at Quill as he leans in a little, like he plans on telling him a secret. Only when he's really, really close does Vasquez decide to say, "but I don't think you're half as handsome as you think you are."

He smirks as he leans back, running his fingers through his hair, knowing that when it tousles into curls, it's plenty handsome, but he doesn't feel the need to boast out loud about it, not like some.

[thestarlord]

The guy is good looking, even if it chafes that he won't admit that Peter is just as good looking, and maybe that's what makes him more interesting. Hard to get is always more interesting than readily available; Peter lives for a challenge.

"I'm exactly as handsome as I think I am. Have you seen these abs?"

[quinientos]

"Not as closely as I'd like," he replies. "I mean, seeing is one thing, but if I really wanted to do some comparing, maybe you'd let me touch them, too?" This is all a prelude leading up to Vasquez suggesting they get out of dodge, but then, he doesn't want to be too easy.

Despite the fact that he absolutely is, but a man who likes sex is a man who knows what he wants. He just wishes he understood the feeling in his head that he knows Quill already.

[thestarlord]

Peter huffs a little and hooks his thumb back toward the exit of the bar. "My ship's here, if you want to test your theory. It's not a five star resort or anything but it's home. Besides, you already know your way around."

Since he, you know, stole the figurine.

"I'm up for it if you are."

[quinientos]

Vasquez cranes his head over his shoulder to look in the direction of where Quill is talking about, making a noise like he has to think about it for a while. When he's reminded of his theft, he raises a brow with amusement.

"I mean, are you sure you want to trust an outlaw like me on your ship again? Who knows what else i might see that appeals to me," he jests.

[thestarlord]

"I'm hoping you see what's given to you and don't go nosing around," Peter retorts. "But if you can't keep your hands off my stuff, I guess it's a risk I'm going to have to take."

He levels a gaze at him. "Are you in or out?"

[quinientos]

How can he ignore an opening like that? The short answer is, he can't. "I guess if you want me to keep my hands off your stuff, you're going to have to give me something to put my hands on instead," he says calmly, with a shrug, like he has no idea what that could be.

Playing stupid does tend to work for him sometimes, he's afraid to admit, because it shouldn't be so fun, and yet, it really is. "Better show me this ship of yours, before I find someone else in here with a bigger one."

[thestarlord]

Peter snorts a little. "Bigger isn't always better, cowboy. Sometimes it's about the motion through the...black of space?"

Less quippy than he wants but hey, he's distracted. There's a ship to find and clothes to take off. "Come on, let's go."

[quinientos]

Vasquez finishes off his drink and watches Quill stand, feeling like this is definitely going the way he likes, even if he's not so sure that he can trust Quill as far as he can throw him (because he's got some very good weight to him. He's not being thrown very far).

"You're not even going to throw me over your shoulder?" he laments, as he stands to move. "This is a disappointment day."

[thestarlord]

Peter eyes him. Vasquez is slighter than he is but he's still a grown man and Peter isn't sure if he's going to manage that kind of carry. It'd be nice if he could, mind, but dreams aren't always reality.

"Don't think I can do it. Do you think you can settle for less than the best?"

[quinientos]

Vasquez grins as he stands at his full height, trying to loom. He definitely couldn't throw Quill anywhere, no matter how much he might try to, but at least he can pretend that a thing like this is possible. "I think maybe tonight, I don't mind if I settle for fifth best," he deadpans, like he's looking around and counting one, two, three, four, and then five...

He lands a finger on Quill, thinking that if he can rile him up enough, then this is going to be a very interesting night.

[thestarlord]

Peter arches his brows. "I'll take third best but I am definitely not fifth best. That's ridiculous. That's slander."

Maybe it isn't the legal definition of slander but as far as the rules of flirting go, Peter is going to call it slander. Is it flirting? Oh yes. Definitely. No question about it. He has all the charm he's got turned onto Vasquez right now.

[quinientos]

"I guess I haven't seen you with your shirt off," Vasquez allows because for all that he knows, he could be missing out on the world's best looking man when it comes to what he looks like, undressed. He's grinning, though, and feels like maybe he should be stealing more shit from ships if this is where it lands him.

Tugging at the lapel of Quill's jacket, he turns to walk backwards so he can coax him along with him. He can't wait to get his mouth on this man, can't wait to get that kiss he's been thinking about, but not until they have a little more privacy. "Let's work you up to first best, hmm?"

[thestarlord]

Wherever Vasquez came from, he sure knows how to push his buttons. Peter doesn't know if that's because he's easy to read (likely) or Vasquez has been casing him (also likely). He also finds he doesn't really care.

He doesn't take long to get back to the ship and, since the guy's already been there, no point in giving the tour. "All right. Show me what you've got."

[quinientos]

Vasquez follows along at a casual amble, careful not to look too eager, despite the fact that he is. After all, he's only been thinking about this since he first saw the man called Quill (even if his brain has a different name when he thinks about him). "So romantic," he deadpans, but Vasquez still flips his hat to the side and strips his shirt off fast, revealing a few scars and tattoos, advancing on Quill so he can grab him by the front of his shirt, hauling him in for a kiss.

It's not nice, really, it's hard and fast and determined, like he's been meaning to do this for years. Lucky for him, it's also not half bad.

[thestarlord]

It's actually a damn good kiss, all told, and while it takes a lot to surprise Peter these days, this manages to do it. He guesses he should have known it was coming - they were flirting - but it doesn't assuage any of the shock he has at feeling someone kiss him like they own him.

It's a damn good feeling.

After he has a moment to fall into the rhythm of the kiss, his hands slide up into Vasquez's hair so he can pull him that much closer.

[quinientos]

He hasn't cut it in a while, which means there's plenty to grab onto. Vasquez lets out a pleasured hiss when Quill's fingers sink down into it, drifting a little forward to try and get a little more contact, determined to deepen the kiss as they stumble back.

He also probably shouldn't be thinking about what else he could steal given the distraction, but it's in his mind. He is a criminal, after all, it's practically habit. He thinks that he wants more, though. "What about you? When's more of your clothes come off?"

[thestarlord]

"More of my clothes can come off whenever you get around to helping me out of them," Peter drawls, smirking at Vasquez while he does. He hasn't been with a guy in a while but it seems like it's coming back to him easily enough.

"Want to help a guy out or am I going to have to do all the work?"

[quinientos]

Vasquez starts to shove at him, not to get him away, but to get him far enough that he can start to strip away at the clothes, starting to make some progress of fumbling with the hem of his shirt to yank it off, heart beating faster and faster, as the adrenaline starts to pump.

He's missed this, hasn't had a chance for it in a very long time. "What are we doing first?" he asks, instead of 'how naked do I need to get you?'

[thestarlord]

Peter lets out a little huff of a laugh and tips his head back a bit, exposing his throat while he thinks. He has no idea what he wants first, only that he wants and he motions to his pants.

"Probably need to get those off too if we're going to get anywhere. I haven't really decided yet but we're going to want all the options, right?"

[quinientos]

Vasquez leans in for the opening to start to kiss and bite and mark up that neck, eager to make people question if vampires are really a thing, seeing as with the work he's doing, he could definitely make a case. Well, that, or that beard burn is definitely a thing.

"Do you want them for later? Because otherwise, I can cut them off," he offers, waggling his brows.

[thestarlord]

"I've got other clothes, I'm not that destitute," Peter says, his laugh sliding into a groan at the feel of Vasquez's lips against his neck. It really has been too long since he's had this.

"If you're feeling it that much, rip them off. It's a necessary casualty."

[quinientos]

Vasquez keeps working on his neck, seeing as he doesn't feel like moving anywhere else yet, even if he's taking it in turns to grope his ass, rocking up against him as he's starting to feel the effect this has on him. "Maybe I don't need to rip them, but I want to," he says, nipping at Quill's ear as he eases back.

"Maybe with my knife?" he suggests, wondering where he put the thing. It's a pretty idea, now that it's in his head.