It was the first time that Yondu entered Carlos’s house, the young Centaurian looked to the sides and listened to what Carlos said, apparently Carlos would go in the bathroom, as Carlos left Yondu began to think about how he could help, he went looking for kitchen , he would clean everything up and show how useful he was.
Carlos had only meant to be quick in the bathroom. He washed and sanitized his hands and came back out. He was surprised, and a little alarmed when Yondu wasn’t where he’d left him. But a short search later, Carlos found him in the kitchenette.
“Oh, there you are,” he said aloud. “Hey, uh… whatcha doin’, buddy?”
Carlos picked up Yondu under his armpits and pulled him away
from the glass. He knelt in front of the child and started rubbing his
shoulders. “Yondu… Yondu, look at me, buddy. It’s okay! It’s okay, buddy, I’m
right here!” Carlos was confused at first about why Yondu was crying, but then
remembering what had happened to Yondu before hit him like a freight train.
Fuck – his yelling must’ve scared him.
“Y-Yondu?” he tried again, dropping his voice down lower. “Yondu…
buddy… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry – I shouldn’t have yelled. I’m not going to hurt
you, I promise. I’m so sorry, Yondu…”
Yondu was being picked up, feeling that his feet were no longer touching the ground, being pulled away from the glass, he hadn’t just collected it all, Carlos would probably get angry, but then, Yondu was totally confused, why Carlos was rubbing his shoulders, now Yondu was scared, confused, afraid, wanting to cry, and Carlos was talking more calmly, apologizing? It wasn’t his fault, Yondu had broken things, Carlos wouldn’t hit him? Don’t he sees that Yondu broke stuff?
“I … broke …” He spoke, holding the cry now, feeling his eyes fill with tears again but holding “Sorry … I … I can clean, I’m cleaning … I.. your glass… please, don’t hit me, I promise I’ll not do it again.. Please..Carlos don’t send me back too… I’ll be better, I’ll do better… please…” He wants a hug, he wants hold Carlos, but he know he can’t.
“Shh…. Shh, shh, shh… Yondu… Yondu, it’s okay,” Carlos told
him, trying to keep his voice calm and gentle. “Yondu, it’s okay… it’s okay, I
promise.”
He reached and gently wiped away at some of Yondu’s tears
with his thumb. It was pretty gross, he thought, but he just wanted to help the
boy feel better. If he wasn’t afraid of scaring the boy even more, he would
have hugged him.
“Yondu, it was an accident,” Carlos gently tried to explain.
“I’m not going to hurt you for it. But I don’t want you to touch the glass – I don’t
want you to get hurt. I’ll clean it
up, don’t worry. It’s okay… it’s okay.”
The Perfect Scientist 