26 YEARS LATER

MORAG 2014

You step out of your spaceship letting the breeze on the abandoned planet blow through you. Surrounding you are rocks and debris that appear to be populated by small, rodent-like creatures. How the hell are you supposed to find some fancy orb here?  You spin around trying to find clues. There's nothing intriguing. All of the rocks look misshapen, out of place, falling apart. The debris floats across the ground or rests on top of rock formations. The creatures lurk creepily, sending shivers down your spine. It's hopeless. There are no possible hints leading to your end goal. On the brink of giving up, you think back to your sister: Gamora. You managed to escape the wrath of Thanos almost two decades ago, but she didn't.

Not long after your departure from Thanos' ship, you became a petty thief, making a bit of money here and there, sometimes at the cost of others whose items you were swiping. But, amidst the fun you had, there were melancholy times of loneliness where you longed for your friends again. Shortly after being taken from Terra, you, Gamora, and Nebula grew inseparable. You were sisters. The sisters you chose to leave behind in order to escape, only helping yourself. Recently, you ran into Gamora, the now tough assassin who had every right to be mean to you after skipping town on her and Nebula. But, she always had a soft spot for you, randomly being abducted and only trying to get out of whatever Thanos had planned, so she forgave you.

Gamora told you about how she and Nebula turned against each other after you left, longing for you to return and bring the friendship back somehow. She talked about how Thanos had become more powerful and menacing as time went on, and she was planning on betraying him through Ronan. Ronan is one of the Kree people who is working with Thanos in order to bring equality to the universe. He needs the orb to gain strength, which is exactly what Gamora promised to bring him. Obviously, she is not going to follow through and she actually intends on selling it to a third party. This third party is willing to pay a copious amount of units, something you love. You could use a few units to fix up your ship and it feels amazing having Gamora back as a friend, so she let you assist her in her plan.

That's why you're on Morag, scoping a dusty, old planet and looking for some fruity orb. To make the search possible, you need your beloved walkman. You put in your headphones and strap the device to your pants. Upon pressing play, you instantly recognize the song. Letting the rhythm take you, you start wandering the planet on a hunt for the orb.

Peter Quill waltzes out of the Milano, walkman at his hip, per usual. He is looking for some kind of orb. The same orb you are currently searching for yourself. Yondu sent Peter to Morag in search of the orb, however, he is destined to retrieve it before Yondu and make a little bank for himself. Upon reaching a flat area, Peter retracts his mask and presses play on his walkman. "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone starts playing and he instantly picks up with the melody. He dances and sings along, never missing a beat after hearing the song so many times. He kicks some rocks and creatures out of his way, enjoying himself as he continues to get closer to his destination.

Hearing a noise, Peter immediately comes to a halt. He can hear someone moving near him, but he also hears...music? He takes his headphones off and presses pause on the walkman. He still hears the faded notes to a legendary song. Not only does he know this song, but he loves this song. Turning around in circles, he sees the source of the noise. His mouth falls agape as he looks at you, dancing, completely oblivious to everything around you.

"If you like piña coladas,

and getting caught in the rain,"

You belt your heart out into the lyrics as the song plays on your walkman. You sway your hips to the beat, finding the rhythm and making a fool of yourself as you move to it. You've become immune to dancing and singing alone in the comfort of your own ship that the thought of another being witnessing you has never crossed your mind. The days alone on your ship are spent blaring one of your tapes at an unhealthy volume and following all of the songs you know so damn well. Although you couldn't dance to save your own life, you lack embarrassment and just look so confident doing it that it almost looks good. Does Peter find this cute? Hell yeah, he does.

"If you're not into yoga,

if you have half a brain,"

You continue to sing as you head in the same direction as Peter, who is still in shock at this lovely woman in front of him. A Terran? With a walkman? That likes the same music he does? That's the dream! You are absolutely breathtaking to him. He finds himself infatuated by your awful dancing and off-pitch singing. Snapping out of his gaze, he returns to his casanova demeanor and upturns the corners of his mouth into a smirk as he saunters over to you.

"If you like making love at midnight,

in the dunes of the-"

Your singing is cut off by a man who stands in front of you, holding the earbuds he just took out of your ears in the middle of your jam session. Your face heats up slightly at the fact you were just dancing like no one was watching because you really did believe that no one was watching. You slowly lift your head up to meet the man's eyes. He wears a confident smirk and a smoldering gaze as he leans against the rock pile next to him. He eyes you up and down, not ashamed to check you out. It's flattering.

"What's funny is that I do, in fact, like piña coladas and gettin' caught in the rain," he says, continuing to let his eyes linger on your body.

Trying to act annoyed, you roll your eyes at him, but you can't help stifling a quaint laugh at the cheesy line he just fed you. "Good one," you retort, crossing your arms and stepping past him towards a flight of stairs.

"Don't you like makin' love at midnight?" he calls out after you. You quietly giggle, again. Why is his goofy charm working on you? Hopefully, he didn't hear you laugh. He follows you up the stairs as you open the large doors, revealing a dark cave. On a podium, sits a glowing ball, which you naturally assume is the orb.

You walk over to it and the man grabs your wrist. "And just what in the hell do you think you're doin'?" he questions you, slightly pulling you back from the orb.

"Probably retrieving this strange ball that appears to have the importance of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber or something," you huff. Peter's eyes widen at your reference to Star Wars, something nobody else in the galaxy would know but him. You raise an eyebrow at his silence and dropped jaw. "So, you know, I'm doing exactly what I came here for."

He chuckles at your words, a sincere laugh, and you can't help but smile. "Sounds like something I would say about this stupid thing," he says. You shrug, still impressed you made him laugh. Peter follows the outline of your figure with eyes again, followed by genuine eye contact. "You're from Terra."

"Wow, Sherlock, I'm impressed." The words spit out of your mouth sarcastically, but only with good intentions. "How else would I know about Star Wars?"

"You make a valid point."

You shake your head and lean towards the orb again. "I know. Can I get back to my job now?"

"No!" Peter yanks you back from the orb. "You're all wrong about retrieving it, darlin', it makes me think you're a terrible theif. You can't just grab shit like this. Here, allow me to demonstrate." With a cocky wriggle of his eyebrows, he pulls something out of his bag and lays it down on the ground. The orb slowly gravitates toward it and sure enough, it works. He picks up the orb and tosses it up in the air playfully.

You try your hardest to not act impressed. "Rad," you mutter. "Thanks a lot."

He gently places the orb in your hands and flashes you a bright grin. "You're very welcome. The name's Peter, by the way, Peter Quill, but people call me Star-Lord."

"Well, Star-Lord, I'm Y/N, Y/N L/N, and people don't call me by a silly, code name."

Peter shifts uncomfortably and rolls his eyes at you. "It's an outlaw name," he mumbles.

Suddenly, the doors are thrown open and several Kree men flood in. The leader, Korath, is followed by his henchmen that fill the room, surrounding you and Peter.

"Drop it!" Korath commands. The henchmen grab you and Peter, and you instinctively place the orb down on the ground.

"Hey! Relax. It's not a problem."

Peter backs you up. "Yeah, no problem at all."

Korath picks up the orb and inspects it. "How do you know about this?"

"I don't even know what that is. I'm just a junker, man. We were just...just checking stuff out," Thankfully, Peter talks first, so you don't have to come up with some lie to get out of this situation. Not that he did any better with the talking.

"You don't look like a junker. You're wearing Ravager garb!" Korath shouts as his henchmen begin to prod you and Peter with their guns.

"This is just an outfit, man," he states as one of the henchmen pushes you harshly closer to Peter. "Ninja Turtle, you better stop pokin' her." You grin at his words, making sure to hold back your laughter given your current state.

"What is your name?" Korath asks, turning to you.

"Y/N L/N."

"And you?" he gestures to Peter.

"My name is Peter Quill, okay? Dude, chill out."

"Move!" he shouts.

You raise your eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

"Ronan may have questions for you." Shit, you do not need to see Ronan right now, or ever.

Peter puts a stop to their movement. "Hey, you know what? There's another name you might know me by," he says, smirking yet again. "Star-Lord"

Korath curls his face up in confusion. "Who?"

Peter sighs deeply. "Star-Lord, man. Legendary outlaw." He turns to the henchmen. "Guys?" The men say nothing and on Korath's command, they usher you and Peter towards the door again.

"Oh, fuck this," you state, throwing a nod to Peter who nods right back, ready for action. You kick the man who was holding you back and take his gun from him. You use it to hit him on the head as well as shoot the few men next to him, knocking them out. You quickly dash for the door but feel like you can't leave without Peter. You take a look behind you. He activates his mask and shoots at the remaining henchmen. He tries to pick up the orb, struggling with Korath. Finally, Korath goes down and falls unconscious after another shot from Peter's gun. You're surprised at what a good team you the two of you make.

Switching on his rocket boots, Peter flies past you, grabbing you by the waist and scooping you up to fly with him. Only in the air for a few moments, you take this time to actually check him out. His mask is covering his face but you already know he is handsome with those mossy, green eyes and arrogant smirk. He has dirty, blonde hair that isn't super messy but dismantled enough to make it attractive. He has a tall build and you can feel his muscular arms press against you as you both land back on the ground.

Damn, you have the hots for a man who calls himself Star-Lord.