Forbidden | Carol Danvers

Chapter 38: Jealousy, Jealousy

1999

Every month, we got the outside of our ship cleaned. Mud, grime, blood, dust, it all stuck to the colored panels and the windows in a thin layer of sticky goo. Sure, we could get it off ourselves, scrub at it until our arms hurt, but that would take a full day and we loved being lazy if we could be.

Eos-751 was an outpost, a small planet which only purpose was to accommodate travelers. It was always dark and had only one town on the otherwise empty surface, filled with motels, casinos, a huge outdoor market, and brothels. There were no native species. Everyone here came from other planets. Either on the run, on a quest, or living their lives la vida loca.

These docks were the place in this part of the universe to get your ship repaired, cleaned, or upgraded. Prices were good and the work fast. A male worker with small fins on the back of his head and neck helped guide our ship into the right spot with wide arm gestures before Carol turned the engines off.

"Can you get it?" Carol looked hopefully at me, her smile betraying that she knew I wasn't going to like that question.

I groaned. "Why me? They like you so much better." And I swore they did a better job cleaning if she was the one ordering and paying for the service.

Her smile widened into a mischievous grin. "I'll run to the market and get you that candy you like."

She knew she had me. That candy was one of my only weak spots, discovered a few years ago at one of our first stops here. Small, individually wrapped, oval-shaped candies to chew. A luxury we didn't often allow ourselves to enjoy.

I sighed, making sure I sounded extra annoyed while my mouth watered at the thought of the treats. "Fine," I grumbled pettily, standing from my seat as Carol smiled victoriously.

The dock worker was waiting for me when I walked off the ramp, clipboard in his hands. Surprisingly, this one smiled. He greeted me kindly, asked what service I wanted, and wrote my information down. I gave him curt answers, still a bit pissed at Carol and very impatient with the long process. I wanted to take a nap on the couch.

"So, do you come here often?"

I blinked confusedly at his question. He already asked me if we'd had this service done before. "Uh... once a month?"

He perked up with interest. "Really? I don't think I've seen you here before. Where do you come from?"

That was quite a sensitive topic. Nevertheless, I indulged him, figuring he just wanted to make a bit of small talk. "Atera."

His brows furrowed as he shifted his weight around. "Never heard of it," he said, not unkindly. But it was exactly his honest, kind smile that set me off for some reason.

"That's because it doesn't exist anymore. The whole planet and everyone on it died."

"Oh." His eyes grew wide, the smile fading from his face. "I—I'm sorry to hear that. Are you traveling alone now?" He must not have seen Carol in the pilot seat before.

"No."

That seemed to... disappoint him? This whole conversation was wildly confusing. "Oh, you're not?" He craned his neck to look behind me, coming up empty.

"No. My partner is inside."

"Your partner?" He repeated. I didn't think much about the word I used to describe Carol. She was my partner in every meaning of the word. "Any chance they'd let you go off on your own for a couple hours? There's a place in town where they fight for money. I could take you to see it, if you want, bet some money?"