A/N: So this was supposed to be a one-shot, but looking back, I forgot to go into detail about some stuff, mainly Peter's feelings about Ego, so here, have a surprise chapter 2!

Peter stared at the ceiling.

He should've been fast asleep. He was certainly exhausted, and he ached all over, and he just wanted to forget that Yondu was… gone. The sensations of Groot's sleepy baby noises, Gamora's warmth by his side, Rocket's gentle snoring, and the way his hand was intertwined with Gamora's hand, Rocket's tail, and little Groot should've lulled him to sleep.

And yet, here he was, staring at the ceiling. And mourning Ego. He was lying in bed, ignoring the comfort of his real family while mourning the loss of that egotistical family killer. His mom, Yondu, and dozens or hundreds or maybe even more of his half-siblings dead by Ego's hand, and Peter was mourning him.

Suddenly, guilt's bitter taste rose in his throat, and Peter scrambled out of bed, beelining for the small bathroom attached to the room. Groot whined and Rocket grunted as his sudden absence sent them tumbling to the bed, and another surge of guilt hit him right before he dropped to his knees and puked his guts into the toilet.

By the time he finished, panting and trembling, Gamora was kneeling beside him, holding his arm bracingly and rubbing his back. "What's wrong, Peter?"

He leaned against the wall, avoiding her gaze. How could he explain what he was feeling? He had felt Ego trapping her, suffocating her, crushing her beneath heavy rocks. He had floated there, stabbed by more tentacles of power than he cared to count, struggling with everything he had, and been unable to stop his father from killing everyone he loved. And through that, he had wanted to cry. For Ego.

"I…" he tried, but trailed off, shaking his head.

"Is it your connection to that light?" Gamora asked, handing him a damp towel.

Carefully, Peter wiped his mouth, and shot a grateful look at Rocket as the raccoon filled a glass of water for him. "It- it is, sort of," he answered. "But-"

"You miss him," a new voice stated.

Peter's gaze jumped up, startled by Kraglin's sudden appearance. He stood in the doorway to the bathroom, arms closely loosely over his chest, awkwardly trying to look at Peter while not noticing his vulnerability, Yondu's arrow holstered at his hip.

"W-what?" Peter stammered, already realizing the surprisingly perceptive Ravager had guessed his secret. He had always been able to guess, ever since Peter was little.

"You miss Ego," Kraglin clarified, pointedly meeting Peter's gaze.

Gamora leaned back suddenly, as if repulsed, staring at Peter as if he'd grown a second head. "You what?" she demanded.

Peter reached out for her. "I can sort of exp-"

"Tyrannical 'fathers' are nothing to miss," she snapped.

How dare she be mad? She dragged me into this!

"Ego isn't Th-"

"Shut it!" Kraglin commanded, stepping between them. "Both of ya, shut it before ya say somethin' you regret. You three, stay," he added, pointing at Gamora, Rocket, and Groot. "Pete, come with me."

With a little help from Kraglin's proffered hand, Peter hauled himself to his feet. The older Ravager led him away from the others, towards the back of the ship, until they stood in a small, round alcove walled by windows. There, Kraglin leaned against the window, stuffing one hand into his pocket.

Peter crossed his arms defensively. "Why are we here?" he muttered.

"It's natural, ya know," Kraglin told him, "to miss your father."

Peter searched Kraglin's face for hints of deception, but he saw nothing. "But-" he tried to protest.

The Ravager overrode him, brushing his fingers against the arrow as he spoke. "You know where Yondu came from, right?" he checked.

"Sold into slavery by his parents," Peter replied. And Ego would've enslaved me…

Kraglin nodded. "Well, early on, he looked for 'em, even though it was clear they didn't care 'bout him. He looked and looked and looked. Nearly wasted all of our resources doin' it. And when we finally did find 'em, it was just what you'd expect – they didn't care. Only said they weren't givin' back the money cause he'd escaped. Still, it devastated him. Drank almost endlessly and holed himself up for weeks after that. Then we started getting jobs from Ego, and I guess the money cheered him up enough, until he realized what was happenin' to your siblings. Then he devoted his life to keepin' you safe, even from us."

"I wish he'd been there," Peter sighed, glancing out the window to where the fireworks had lit up space, "when Ego showed up. Would've saved us a lot of pain."

"I doubt you would'a listened, Pete. You always been stubborn, just like the cap'n," Kraglin observed. "My point is, is that your parents can do whatever, and some part of you will always miss 'em. You'll go through life wonderin' 'What if?'"

"What if he loved her – loved us – enough to stop," Peter murmured, closing his eyes, remembering the thrill of power tingling through his veins, the warmth that filled him when he tossed and caught the ball of light, the pride when Ego smiled at him.

And then the feeling of his universe crashing down around him.

"But he didn't," Peter snarled, kicking the window violently. "He killed my mom. He crushed my Walkman. And he killed Yondu. He doesn't deserve to be mourned!"

Kraglin tugged him away from the window. "That Ego doesn't. But the Ego that could'a been does. Just like Yondu mourned the mental picture of loving parents, you'll mourn that handful of memories of a loving dad."

Peter clenched his eyes shut. "I should've- Why didn't Yondu ever tell me?"

"To protect ya," Kraglin explained simply, cautiously releasing him. "He wanted you to have those happy dreams, not a pile of dead siblings."

"I-I never told him-" Peter mumbled, slumping against the window.

Kraglin cut him off, clasping Peter's shoulder. "There was never a need to. He knew," he promised. "Cap'n always knew how you felt. Well, except when you was a teenager. You human kids and your hormones."

They shared a chuckle that faded quickly. Silence reigned for a moment as they looked at each other, silently acknowledging what would never be said aloud. "You know, for a Ravager, you're pretty good at this heart-to-heart thing," Peter half-joked.

Kraglin laughed, but his words were serious. "Guess we're all different inside when it counts."

Peter closed his eyes, reflecting on his space pirate dad, ex-assassin maybe-girlfriend, still-sorta-thief brother, former-destroyer friend, and his ex-Ravager self. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "I guess we are."

"Now, I think you might wanna explain all this to your girl," Kraglin suggested, pointing down the corridor. "She looked mighty upset back there."

"There's no need for that. Though you might have to apologize to Groot."

Peter and Kraglin jumped backwards in unison as Gamora appeared from behind a wall, smirking a little at their terror. She came to stand beside Peter, hooking one finger around his own finger as she looked up at him. "I shouldn't have snapped," she apologized quietly. "I guess I'd understand if I didn't remember my real father."

"Well, I'm glad you remember him," Peter told her, leaning so their foreheads touched. He smiled softly as he felt her let herself relax against him.

Kraglin cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, I'm just gonna… go eat. Yeah. Eat. You two… have fun."

As he scooted off, Peter lifted his head. "And Kraglin," he called.

The Ravager who might as well be his uncle paused in his escape. "Yeah?"

"Now, boy, if anything ever happens while I'm away, you go to Kraglin, got it?" Yondu instructed, kneeling in front of a somewhat-freshly-kidnapped Peter. "He'll keep ya safe."

"Yondu wasn't keeping me safe from you," Peter told him. "He trusted you with my life, right from the start."

Kraglin grinned, glowing like a little brother receiving the greatest gift of his life.

A/N: I've never written Kraglin before. My initial thought for his role here was Gamora, but I decided some good ole Ravager bonding was necessary. Bad grammar normally bothers me, but writing him is actually kinda fun. And now I really wanna rewatch GOTG 1 since I'm now muuuuuuch more attached to him. But alas, it's 12:50am, and starting a movie right now would not be a good idea.