rendezvous

Status: Complete
Published: 23 March 2026
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Rating: Teen & Up
Tags: Mantis/Nebula (Marvel), Mantis (Marvel), Nebula (Marvel)

AO3 Mirror

Opening Notes:

Original AO3 Note: long time no see! i have once again going rifling through my files and found something that's okay enough to post i guess. this has been sitting in my drafts for a couple of years by now, so it's gotten a quick edit and now it's here

i have also decided to include the art i sort of based this fic on at the end, as a little treat. if you remember this art then that gives you an idea how long this fic has been sitting around for lol

It isn’t that Mantis isn’t happy to back home in Knowhere, isn’t happy to see everyone again. It had been a long time since her last visit, and they’d even managed to time it right so that everyone was on Knowhere at the same time.

Mantis almost feels bad about sneaking off with Nebula. It was hard not too—it was the first time they’d all been together in one place in so long, and it had been so great to see everyone and catch up…

But then she’d met Nebula’s eyes across the plaza and all she can think about is how long it’s been since they’ve been together, since they’ve had some precious alone time, and before she knows it they’re sneaking away from the plaza together, Nebula’s wrist held tight in Mantis’s hand.

It’s quieter here, relatively speaking. They can still hear the laughter and the shouting and the music playing on the speakers, but it’s a little more muffled, a little more distant now they’re a few streets away.

They dart unseen into an alley and Mantis turns to face Nebula immediately, dropping her wrist so she can grab fistfuls of her pretty red jacket in each hand and she yanks, guiding her further out of sight. Nebula comes willing and eager, taking long strides that threaten to overtake Mantis with every step until her back hits the wall.

They’re so close they’re nearly nose to nose. Nebula’s breath is warm on her skin, and it sends Mantis’s hair wisping across her face.

Mantis tells herself they’ll only be a few minutes.

Another yank on Nebula’s jacket brings her closer still, and Mantis hears a quiet thump just above to her right where Nebula has braced her arm against the wall. She ducks her head until their foreheads press together. Mantis stares back at her, bright-eyed and giggly, and says breathlessly, “Hi.”

And then Nebula is kissing her, crowding her against the wall, her free hand is on Mantis’s hip. Mantis makes a happy sound against Nebula’s mouth, fingers curling tighter in Nebula’s jacket.

“I missed you,” she mumbles when they finally pull apart.

“You should visit more,” Nebula breathes, her voice low. Then she ducks her head again to kiss along Mantis’s jaw.

Mantis smiles. She unfists one hand to slide it under Nebula’s jacket, enjoying the warmth of her body and the quiet thrumming of her cybernetics beneath her fingertips. Mantis feels the hand on her waist play with the hem of her shirt, and then it lifts and Nebula’s fingers are there, touching bare skin and creeping lazily up her side.

“Don’t get too frisky,” Mantis warns teasingly. “I’m sure our absence will be noticed soon.”

“Take your own advice,” Nebula grunts, glancing pointedly at the hand on her chest tucked under the flap of her jacket. She kisses her again, murmurs, “We can get away with another minute or two, I think.”

“Maybe three,” Mantis whispers conspiratorially, and Nebula’s eyes crinkle at the corners in amusement.

“Maybe three,” Nebula agrees.

They’re in the middle of another kiss when the chime of their comms startle them apart.

“What—”

Nebula straightens and frowns at the communicator pinned to the front of her suit before declining the call.

“I think they noticed,” Mantis sighs. A second later, her comm starts to chime, too.

“Ignore them,” Nebula growls, but Mantis has already declined the call before she can even finish.

“Maybe we should head back,” Mantis suggests reluctantly, though it’s the last thing she wants to do.

“Pests,” Nebula practically hisses. She declines another call, lip starting to curl in annoyance.

Mantis’s comm chimes again and she reaches for it hesitantly. “Maybe we should—”

Nebula is faster, fueled by frustration, and she answers Mantis’s comm with a snarled “What?”

A pause, and then Drax says, “So you are with Mantis!”

Peter’s voice, a little more distant, “I told you—”

And then Rocket’s voice, “Well no shit, where else would she be?”

“Oh my god, shut up.” Nebula looks nearly murderous.

“We’re fine, thanks, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Mantis interjects, trying to breeze through to the end of this conversation. “Nice of you to check on us, now—”

“I can’t believe you two!” Rocket gripes. “The first night we’re all back together in how long—”

“Little over a year,” Kraglin helpfully supplies in the background.

“—and you two sneak off to screw around! Can’t even wait a few hours—”

“It’s been months since Mantis’s last visit so if we wanna screw around we will!”

“Gross!”

“Okay, okay, let’s—” Peter starts, but Nebula doesn’t let him finish.

“What does it matter anyways!” she exclaims. “It’s not like you’re all leaving in the morning, so who cares!”

“First night with all of us back together! We should be celebratin’ together, not sneakin’ off!”

“I am Groot.”

“It is rude of them—”

“Okay well we’ll catch up later, bye!” Mantis quickly jabs at the communicator and cuts the line, cutting off the protests.

Nebula huffs angrily. “They are so annoying. I swear, if I see them again tonight I’ll—”

“Don’t kill them,” Mantis says immediately. “They’re still our friends.”

“I’m not actually going to kill them. I was just…considering it.”

Mantis smiles like she doesn’t quite believe her. She reaches for Nebula, fixing her rumpled jacket with careful, tender fondness. Mantis plays with the collar of her jacket, hands lingering even after her jacket’s been adjusted.

Nebula’s expression softens slightly.

“Do you want to head back?” Nebula finally asks, still sounding a little disgruntled.

“And reward them for interrupting us?” Mantis teases. “I was thinking, since our cover’s been blown, we might as well enjoy the rest of our night together.”

Nebula’s bad mood is immediately forgotten. “Yeah?”

Mantis smiles. “Yeah. How does that sound?”

“Significantly more appealing than the alternative,” Nebula says, and Mantis’s smile widens.

"Let’s not waste any more time, then.” Mantis grabs Nebula’s hand and pulls at her, and then they’re hurrying out of the alley together, eager for the privacy of their apartment.

Ending Notes:

N/A