starbula

[starbula]

your ivy grows

note: soulmate au. not quite finished, but i didn't want to wait any longer to post. here's the first bit, hopefully i'll get around to finishing it sometime soon.

prompt: free day rating: G for @starbula-week, day 7

Nebula is four when she first feels it. A feeling that is not her own. A hollow ache in her chest that feels so overwhelming she forgets how to breathe.

Her mother notices the panic on her face and rushes to her side.

“Nebula, darling, is everything okay?”

Nebula doesn't know how to answer. She was fine just a few moments ago. Now there are tears streaming down her face and a sense of grief is filling her heart. She has a sudden urge to hug her mother tight and never let go.

Later that evening, when the worst of it has passed, she learns about soulmates.

---

Peter is fifteen and it almost knocks him over.

Him and Yondu and a few of the other Ravagers are out celebrating a successful haul. Peter is at the bar getting another round for everyone when out of nowhere–fear. Vast, staggering fear.

He knows what this is, but he screws his eyes shut and wills the feeling away. He's only young, he doesn't want to worry about soulmates yet.

But the feeling doesn't go away. It stays, it grows. And for the first time in a long time, Peter thinks of Earth and misses the people he left behind.

✷

[starbula]

worthwhile

prompt: family rating: G for @starbula-week, day 6

Nebula flops onto the bed with a content sigh.

“You had a good time tonight?” Peter’s taking off his jeans, getting ready for bed. 

“I did,” She props herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him. “I’m happy your grandparents like me.”

“Of course they do,” A balled up sock soars through the air, but misses the laundry basket. “Why wouldn't they?”

Nebula rolls her eyes a little, “Did you like me when we first met?” 

“Touché,” Peter concedes. “But, to be fair, you were a bit more assassin-y back then.” 

Nebula laughs. “Only a bit?”

Peter, finally undressed, joins Nebula on the bed. “Thanks for coming all this way to meet them.” 

Nebula places a hand on his cheek, a smile forming on her lips. “Of course, there's nowhere else I'd rather be.” 

✷

[starbula]

Surpise bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of this fic. I finally pulled myself together and finished the second chapter, so come and get your Solumate AU! :D

[starbula]

shadow of your heart

note: sometimes you watch "past lives" and have a long cry and write this (i'm sorry)

prompt: au rating: G for @starbula-week, day 5

Somehow Gamora came back. No one can figure out how, but it happened. Bruce sent a message that Natasha returned, too. Everyone is happy.

Nebula is happy. She has grown so much in the years since the Blip, she is finally ready to have a relationship with her sister.

She is happy. Except for the small part of her that’s sad.

“It’s okay.” Nebula tells Peter.

It’s mostly the truth. They’ve only been dating for a few months. It's not like they were in love. Gamora is his soulmate.

“It’s okay.” She says again.

It will eventually be the truth.

✷

[starbula]

out to lunch

prompt: oblivious rating: G for @starbula-week, day 4

“Why do we always have to get mushrooms?” Peter whined, as he took a couple of pizza slices from the box.

“Because mushrooms are an excellent pizza topping,” Nebula countered, sitting in the chair next to Peter, “and you always get out voted.”

Peter huffed and started picking the mushrooms off his pizza. Automatically, Nebula pushed her plate towards him, and Peter transferred his mushrooms to her plate.

A few moments later, extra olives made their way from Nebula's plate to Peter’s.

Across the room, Rocket nudged Kraglin “Have these clowns realized they're datin’ yet?”

Kraglin laughed, “Not a chance.”

✷

[starbula]

you've gotta fight

prompt: alcohol rating: T (alcohol, implied violence) for @starbula-week, day 3

“Get ready to run.”

That’s all the warning Nebula gets. Peter is already brushing past her, determinedly heading towards the bar.

She whips her head around, looking for a threat. But, they decided to go to one of Knowhere’s more disreputable bars tonight, so everyone looks a little bit sketchy.

“What the hell is going on?” She yells after him.

Instead of a reply, she watches as Peter throws a beer at a seemingly random guy who’s sitting at the bar.

Two seconds later, the whole bar erupts into a brawl. And Peter is decidedly not running.

“Can't we ever have an uneventful night?” Nebula grumbles, as she picks up the stool she was sitting on and makes her way over to assist her dumbass boyfriend.

✷

[starbula]

Happy @starbula-week!! In honor of these crazy kids, I've done something that I never thought I'd ever do again...write a fanfic! 🎉

✨ Day 1: Firsts / Confessions ✨

[starbula]

we made a dancefloor

prompt: music rating: G for @starbula-week, day 2

Nebula was just back from a mission with Rocket. They were only gone for a few days, but she felt utterly exhausted. She had been daydreaming about her bed since they docked back on Knowhere an hour ago.

But, as she approached the apartment, she realized that sleep would not be in her immediate future. She was still a few metres from the door, but she could hear the pounding bass from whatever song Peter was playing inside.

“Is this man serious?” Nebula whispered to herself.

Opening the door, Nebula prepared herself to accost her partner, to demand some quiet, but she stopped short. There in the middle of the room was Peter, singing along to the song that was playing and dancing by himself.

It wasn't until Nebula closed the door and threw her bag to the floor that Peter finally noticed her. His eyes lit up when they met her own, and her previous exasperation melted away.

Still singing, Peter reached out a hand towards Nebula; an invitation to join him in his dance party.

With a roll of her eyes (and a small grin forming on her lips), she took his hand. Sleep could wait for now.

✷

[starbula]

small ball

prompt: firsts rating: G for @starbula-week, day 1

“I don't see what the big deal is.” Nebula said, looking around at the large crowd of people, “It’s only a game.” 

Peter and his grandfather had taken Nebula out to watch her first baseball game. She didn't understand the rules, but the food and the company were good. 

Peter looked over at her, offended, “It’s not just a game. It’s baseball, America’s pastime.”

“You know that doesn't mean anything to me right?” Nebula countered.

Peter huffed in defeat and threw an arm around her shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” Peter’s grandfather said with a chuckle, “you’ll learn to love it, dear.”

✷

[starbula]

✨IT'S FRICKIN' TIME!!✨

Welcome to Starbula Week 2024!! Come and get your prompts! 🎶

We will be celebrating two of our favorite space dumbasses in love from October 28th to November 3rd.

❤️ Prompts!

Day 1 (10/28): Firsts / Confessions

Day 2 (10/29): Music/ Scars

Day 3 (10/30): Alcohol/ Jealousy

Day 4 (10/31): Oblivious/ Realization

Day 5 (11/01): AU / Alternate Scene

Day 6 (11/02): Family/ Holiday

Day 7 (11/03): Free Day!

💙 Rules!

Use the hashtag #starbula week 2024 or tag me @starbula-week to make sure I can see and reblog your work.

Any type of media is accepted, not just fanfic and fanart. If you want you can make a playlist, an animatic, a mood board, a poem, or even just a dumb meme! Anything goes.

You can interpret the prompts however you like.

Graphic/explicit stuff is allowed, just give appropriate content warnings.

✨Now let's have some fun, A-holes!✨

[starbula]

starbula drabble #5

back, back, back again.

“I have so many questions.” “How is that possible,” Peter laughed. “We’re only a few minutes in.” Nebula narrowed her eyes towards the television where the movie was playing. Peter had insisted that they sit down every week to watch a Terran movie. She’ll admit that she enjoyed E.T. last week, but whatever this was, she was more skeptical. The graphics were truly strange. “Why do they need sand to power their ships?” A piece of popcorn hit Nebula on the nose. She slowly turned her head to glare at her couchmate. “It's not sand, it's spice. Pay attention.”

✨

[starbula]

almost done! my fics for day 6 and 7 are now posted (thank you to everyone who has liked and reblogged 💕). i have not forgotten about day 5, but that fic is much much longer and will realistically take me a few more days to complete.

hi folks. i had some personal stuff come up this weekend that took me away from finishing my last few fics for starbula week. i'm hoping to get them posted in the next day or two (🤞).

[starbula]

maybe we make a deal

prompt: free day rating: T for @starbulaweek, day 7

The Guardians were on Contraxia, tracking some valuable information for their latest mission. Nebula was working a target, but she was getting frustrated. Peter’s eyes had not left her in hours and he kept popping in on her radio comm with "helpful" comments. 

Her target was an idiot, but even they were going to notice something soon enough. She needed to shut this down before it got out of hand. 

Excusing herself to the restroom, Nebula jumped on comms. “Peter, get your ass over to my location now.” 

Nebula watched as Peter made his way to her. As soon as he was within reach, she grabbed his arm and hauled him into a nearby closet. 

“What’s the matter with you?” She was trying to keep her emotions in check. “Are you trying to blow this entire mission?”

“The target is a scumbag.” Peter huffed. 

“No shit. If you haven’t noticed, we’re on Contraxia. This whole place is crawling with scumbags.”

“Yeah, but the others aren’t manhandling you.” Peter countered.

Nebula was starting to realize what was going on. She glared at Peter, “You do not need to protect me. I’m fully capable of handling this.” 

“I know that, but-” 

Nebula cut him off. “But nothing. You don’t get to act like this just because we’re dating.” 

Pete’s voice softened, “I know I don’t, but I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.”

Nebula sighed and placed her hand on his cheek. “Peter, I can’t promise you that I’m never going to get hurt, but I need to be able to do my job.” 

She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. “Can I trust that you’ll leave me alone out there to do my job. A job that I’m very good at?”

Peter leaned in for a kiss, “Yes, ma’am.

☆

[starbula]

taking the steps

prompt: hurt rating: T (mentions of alcohol) for @starbulaweek, day 6

“Go away, Quill.”

She knew that was rude, but Tony’s funeral was harder than she thought it would be, and she just wanted to be alone. Quill had been hounding her about Gamora for the past week, but she did not have the mental energy to deal with that today.

Quill ignored her request. “I saw you leave, and you looked–” he hesitated. “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

Nebula scoffed, “I’m fine. Can you go now?”

Quill was quiet for a moment. “You know, it’s okay to not be fine,” he said softly. 

“Why do you care?” Nebula was skeptical. 

“Rocket seems to care about you, and I care about Rocket.” Quill started, “So, welcome to the gang. We look after each other, and I’m gonna be honest, you look like you’re hurting.” 

Nebula didn’t know what to say to that. She had very few interactions with Quill since he returned, but she had been learning to open up to people since the Blip. Maybe some company wouldn’t be awful. 

“I’m not going to spill my guts to you.” Nebula conceded. 

“That’s fine. C’mon, let’s drink away our sorrows. There’s gotta be some alcohol around here somewhere.”

☆

[starbula]

hi folks. i had some personal stuff come up this weekend that took me away from finishing my last few fics for starbula week. i'm hoping to get them posted in the next day or two (🤞).

[starbula]

Felis catus

prompt: parents rating: G (except for a tiny profanity at the beginning) for @starbulaweek, day 4

“This is bullshit. She’s my cat.”

Peter was whining again. This was becoming a daily conversation and Nebula was growing bored of it. “It’s really not my fault, and for the record, she’s our cat. Just because you found her doesn’t make her yours.” 

Peter glared at the cat in question, who was curled up in Nebula’s lap, purring loudly. Too loudly, if you asked Peter. The cat was mocking him, he was sure of it. 

Peter grumpled, “She was playing with me for the past hour, but as soon as you show up I’m chopped liver.”

Nebula smiled down at the cat and scratched between its ears. Peter could have sworn he heard her whisper “Good girl”. 

“I can’t help it if I’m her favourite parent.” Nebula said, “maybe you should try being nicer to her.”

“Nicer? I found her on Earth and gave her a home. I feed her every day and clean out her litter–and let me tell you that girl can do some pretty big things for her small size.” Peter made a gagging noise. 

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Nebula was laughing now, “If it’s any consolation, I’m 75% sure Cosmo likes you.”

☆

[starbula]

Starbula Week Day 3 Jealousy

@starbulaweek

"Ugh! I still don’t get how they fall for his 'charms'." Rocket let out a growl, watching with disgust as Peter flirted with a Kree girl. "And to think Gamora was one of the victims."

Nebula took a sharp breath,, bitting her tongue and jaw tense while throwing daggers at the young girl, which went unnoticed as that stupid naïve kid stared at the man in front of her with hunger.

"This is taking too long." She commented, trying to contain herself. She didn't know why she felt this burning fire in her chest, and why she was so disgusted to see the girl giggling like an idiot and at Peter smirking at her.

"100 credits that girl will end up in his bed." Rocket added as Peter moved much closer to the young Kree, a mischievous gllee in his eyes while bringing an arm around her hip.

"100 that she'll end up with a broken arm." She elegantly sipped her drink and put it down on the bar, standing up from the stool.

"A broken arm? Why would she end up with... Nebula, hey! Hey! Where are you going?!"

That touch was more thanshe could bear. And though she tried to restrain herself from going and interrupting their leader, her emotions took over and with hurried steps she approached the pair of lovebirds.

Disgusting, she thought.

She didn't care about it was all an act to get information about a group of Kree warlords involved in a secret slavery trade with the Kree empire. She couldn't stand another second as the young girl closed the the distance and was now withing inches of kissing Peter.

"That’s enough fun for the day. I’ll take over from here." She grabbed the kree girl by the throat and dragged her into the nearest private booth, causing a commotion among the other customers in the club. Peter barely had time to react when she had her pressed against the wall with a dagger in her neck.

"what the fuck are you doing?!" Peter demanded at her unexpected outburst.

"You were taking too long.”

"I was just getting started! I had her right where I wanted!"

"Where? Your bed?” She scoffed, eyeing him up and down. “That was your strategy? Say fancy words so she can open her legs.”

“it works better than putting a knife to her throat!”

“But it’s faster. We don’t have time for your stupid games, Star Lord.” She turned to the girl, pressing the blade deeper into the girls neck. “Now you’re going to talk, or your head will be rolling on the floor.”

Peter let out a strangled grunt, throwing an arm in exasperation. “You’re scaring her. Let me do the talking.”

“No, you two talked enough already.”

Peter stared at her with a frown and a raised eyebrow. “Wha—that was the plan! We talked about it on the ship! I have a more friendly face than you bunch of psychopaths!”

“Oooh, cmon! You just want to hook up with her!”

“And?! If that means it’ll get us the info I wouldn’t care having a bit of fun!” He paused when he realized, eyes going wide. “Wooah, hold on are you jealous?!”

She did her best to put on the most mortified expression. “We are trying to dismantle a slaving network and you think I’m jealous?”

“You sound like you are…” The girl mumbled in fear. And Nebula gave her another growl, the blade finally drawing blood.

“You shut up!”