This is my response to another prompt on the guardian's kink meme: I'd like to see a fic where Peter has to explain some of his scars he picked up when he was a kid. Full link here: . ?thread=677390#t677390

Remnants

Peter's not ashamed of his body. He knows that it's a bit scarred, a bit damaged, but he also knows that he's rocking an awesome six pack and that ladies love a man who's been in a few fights. Admittedly, most of them may not have come from those sorts of fights, but well, Peter's not about to correct them. It's easier to just let people assume and if they do question, to just tell them it's from a women or bar brawl. Some of them are, so it's not a complete lie, he's just withholding some explanations for convenience. It'd take too long for him to go through them all and people just tend to accept his answers. It's for this reason, he's unprepared for Gamora to be a bit more persistent than most.

Due to the Milano's small size, privacy is a pretty rare thing. They've managed to make it work so they each have their own small areas which give them the semblance of some alone time but there's normally always someone there in the corner of their eye. Usually it isn't that much of a problem except for when Gamora glances over while Peter is changing and she notices a new scar.

"Peter, how did you get that?"

Trousers halfway up his legs, Peter nearly trips when Gamora's voice makes him jump. It's only with a feat demonstrating amazing balance that allows Peter to stay upright and give Gamora a questioning look.

"How did I get what?"

"That scar." She points to a large, ugly scar on the back of his thigh.

"Oh that?" Peter bends his head to look at the mark. "Horez wanted some muscle for a stew. Hey, don't give me that look. Yondu told him not to do it again."

Gamora continues to stare at him with a mixture of incredulity and horror. "He took off some muscle. For a stew?"

Peter shrugs and pulls his trousers all the way up causing the subject in question to disappear from view. "Food was scarce, people got a bit panicked. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big…Peter, don't you realise how abhorrent that sounds?"

Peter thinks about it. He guesses, if you don't know the ravagers like he does, it does sound pretty bad but honestly, it wasn't as bad as she made it seem. It happened, Horez got scolded, it didn't happen again. He tells Gamora this and she just shakes her head before leaving.

The next time this sort of thing happens is when he's working out with Drax, after all, the six pack doesn't come out of nowhere. They're both doing push-ups (with Drax annoyingly putting Peter to shame) when Drax notices a thin white line on his bicep.

"Is that one of the results of a night with a woman?" He asks, inclining his head towards the scar.

Glad for an excuse to sit up, Peter finishes his last push up and shakes his head. "That one's from a game of hide and seek."

Lines of confusion mar Drax's forehead. "Hide and seek? What is that?"

"It's a game," Peter explains. "I used to play it a lot. One of the ravagers would tell me to 'run and hide' and then try and find me. I mean, they added a few more threats, like saying they'd eat me if they caught me, but it was fun. I got this when I decided to hide in the cargo bat. Turned out they were transporting some nasty creatures at the time who did not appreciate me turning up."

Drax has the same look on his face that Gamora had and it makes Peter roll his eyes. "Don't give me that. This one was totally my fault if you think about it. I chose to hide there, I just didn't realise who I'd be sharing my hiding spot with."

"You say they threatened you? A mere child?"

An indignant expression flashes on Peter's face. "Hey, I was no 'mere child'. I could handle anything they threw at me, hence why I'm still here. And anyway, I said it was a game. A fun one when I chose my hiding spots better."

Drax doesn't look convinced. He pushes himself up from the floor and dusts off his hands. "I think I am done exercising."

Much like Gamora had just left before, so does Drax.

The final time one of his scars gets pointed out is while they're patching themselves up after an impromptu fight.

"Hey Quill, how'd you manage to piss a girl off enough to do that?" Rocket points to a scar on his hip.

"Wasn't a girl," Peter replies. "I got that one a couple weeks after being aboard. The guys were doing some knife throwing practice. Yondu thought that it would be a good chance to test my reflexes. I did pretty good until the end when one nicked me."

Everyone stops what they're doing, giving him 'what the fuck' looks. Even Groot. In all honesty, Peter's beginning to get pretty damn tired of it. Yes, his childhood was pretty fucked up but it was nowhere near as bad as they're probably imagining.

"Goddamn it, stop looking at me like that!" Peter exclaims when they continue to stare at him. He's annoyed that none of them even look vaguely apologetic.

"Peter," Gamora starts gently and that's never a good sign because Gamora doesn't do gentle. Gamora does scary, fear-inspiring 'I'm about to kill you' stuff. He automatically knows that he's not going to like whatever comes out of her mouth next. "I know I'm the last person to judge, considering my own upbringing, but I don't think you realise how awful this all sounds. You don't seem to even care that they tried to kill you!"

Peter sighs. "They weren't trying to kill me Gamora, at least not back then. Sure, rough me up a bit, but that was their way of making me tougher so I could protect myself. Look, you see this?" He twists his head and brushes up the ends of his hair to reveal a thin line on his neck. "I got captured one time and if it weren't for the ravagers I would have ended up headless. They saved me just in time. And this?" Peter wrenches off a shoe and sock to show them some mottled skin on his right ankle. "I got this when there was an explosion on the ship. Kraglin pulled me out of the room before I could get burnt alive. And don't even get me started on the times I picked up some weird alien viruses. So seriously, don't assume you know what my childhood was like from a few scars. I know that it wasn't the most conventional upbringing and they did a hell of a load of things wrong but despite it all, I grew up with them and they're the reason I'm who I am today."

The only sound in the room is Peter's heavy breathing from his sudden speech.

"…So it's their fault you're an arrogant asshole?" The tension in the room immediately evaporates with Rocket's comment and Gamora and Drax chuckle as Peter flicks Rocket's ear in retaliation.

"Listen, I told you the truth behind these scars because I trust you guys," Peter says, a bit more seriously. "So trust me when I tell you that you don't have to worry about me. It's all in the past. You can ask me about any of them as long as you promise not to get that stupid look on your face."

"Deal," Gamora says and Drax and Rocket echo her.

"I am Groot!"

"What was that?" Peter looks to Groot who's waving his arm.

"He asked what about that mark," Rocket translates, gesturing to a long thin cut on his back.

Peter smirks. "Well, actually, that one was from a woman. A lovely Rioshe lady with a fiery temper…"