he’s making an attempt at being cavalier in the face of her confession —-but she sees through the act in an instant, and in just that long she feels twice as terrible for letting the truth become known in the first place. the guilt comes as a result of his reaction —-not of her actions. had she not taken that job, had she not followed orders, gotten close to him, entwined herself within the life of peter quill, they wouldn’t be standing where they are now. or where they had been before he’d found out… there was not telling what he’d want to do now.
before she can make any attempt to smooth over the news, or to explain herself, her choices, her mission, he’s all-but collapsing against her, and with her own injuries radiating pain through her body, natasha’s first thought is that they need to stop.
taking quick inventory of the space around them, she moves to push him against the nearest wall, hands on his shoulders both for support of him and herself —-and serving to place them face to face in the most awkward timing known to man.
‘ no, peter, it’s not fine. and i know you’re bound to have a million questions, and i will answer every single one as best i can, but—— ’
she huffs out a sigh that’s both the aftermath of the effort they’ve been exhausting in their slow but determined escape from the clutches of a place that had intended not to let them out alive, and the exasperation with her own handling of the current situation.
‘ ——i didn’t do it, obviously, and you know why, right ? ’
seems like an innumerable amount of people would rather have quill dead than sitting on earth with a woman he really does fancy. both of them live a life looking over their shoulder, whether it be for the things they’ve done or the things they’ve yet to do. being vastly different from one another on the surface doesn’t mean they don’t have their own, darker similarities to one another. one is loud, rambunctious & juvenile in the way he handles the mundane in order to add intrigue, the other is sly, devious, softer spoken & relying primarily upon the subtleties of her personality to get things done.
people all assume, when looking at them, that the whole opposites attract theory is in play here. truth is, that really is the case, but there’s something more than that there between them. they’re accustomed to a particular lifestyle, essentially fitting together like a jigsaw.
once he’s pressed up against the wall & forced to have a more direct confrontation with her, quill does his best to advert eye contact. strangely enough, whereas people tend to do that whilst lying, peter does it when telling the truth – also when he’s put in a situation that’s emotionally uncomfortable. like gazing into his eyes might have people see past the star-lord, which serves as idyllic representation of someone peter’s mom might be proud of, to reveal the disappointing man behind the mask. beyond that veil of confidence which he so frequently leans upon.
of course he understands why she didn’t take him out – he isn’t an idiot. “ yeah … “ quill answers quietly, still fighting to keep himself from passing out. “ yeah, i know why. you don’t have to say it. “
footsteps down the hall, more than just a handful of feet causing them.
