You've been a Guardian of the Galaxy for two months now. There has been a lot of time spent hanging out on the Milano listening to music with the team because everyone has grown very fond of all the mixtapes you and Peter keep on the ship. During missions, everyone hums along. A lot of your time is also spent chatting with Gamora about exploring space and the people you meet along the way. It feels nice to have a sister again, especially now that the two of you are free from Thanos. You and Rocket have grown insanely close as time has passed, cracking jokes off of one another and constantly laughing. He considers you his closest friend on the team. More often than not, however, you're with Peter or Gamora as Rocket builds bombs and Drax does whatever it is he does. Together, you have been working to raise the adorable Groot who appears to be a toddler now. He is very fond of you and Gamora as mother figures for him, while Rocket is obviously like a father. Yet, that doesn't stop the adorable creature from spending time with you and Peter, pointing out how you are like his parents. This always makes the other Guardians laugh, suggesting that the two of you act like a couple.

They aren't wrong.

You and Peter are practically the best of friends at this point, bonding over what you remember back on Terra and continuing to share your music. When time allows, you watch old '80s movies together and sometimes you find yourself even falling asleep in his arms for the night. But, it never seems to go farther then best friends. Well, other than the copious amounts flirting. The flirting is what makes you go crazy. Peter loves to smirk and wiggle his eyebrows at you after making some snarky comment about your body or the two of you getting it on. You occasionally play along, giving in to his player antics. But, a majority of the time you will try and hide your blush, not knowing how much he loves the way he creates a redness on your cheeks. This obvious sexual tension is what the other Guardians love to make clear. Whether it's Rocket making fun of Peter for checking you out or Gamora giggling as you and Peter flirt, they try to make it known to you that you are both on the same page.

It's true, you two really do want each other, badly. But, you still refuse to give into him. You know his past with women and you don't want to become some girl he fucks one night then doesn't give a second look to. You want to mean more to him. You want him to feel what you feel. Deep down, you know he does. There is a distinct connection between you two with more meaning than his one night stands. You see the way he looks at you when you're singing or dancing like an idiot and how his eyes linger on your exposed body when you all have to change quickly between missions. You've even noticed how he only seems to flirt with you now, ignoring the girls who throw themselves at him when you're at a bar. Peter made a promise to you after defeating Ronan, and he hasn't brought anyone back to the Milano since Bereet. He's changing, reserving his playboy comments and flirty banter only for you. Although you hope he keeps his promise, the lack of women is honestly a huge surprise to you considering how the man can only think about sex. He is truly proving himself to you. He is proving that he wants a real relationship. This makes you happy, but that happiness from Peter displaying how he only wants you doesn't seem to mask the fear you have of being worthless to him after one night together. So, you refuse to confess how you feel. You just go along with the innocent flirting.

When you and Peter aren't drooling over each other, however, you and the rest of the crew are working mildly hard to protect the galaxy and make units. Such as today, where you have been hired to kill some beastly alien from eating the batteries on a golden planet full of golden people with sticks up the asses.

Metaphorically, of course.

THE SOVEREIGN

Several cracks occur in the sky above you, signaling everyone to prepare for battle. Peter scans the area with a tracker, watching the surrounding area for the approaching alien.

"Showtime a-holes! It'll be here any minute," he announces.

You load your rifle and next to you, Gamora does the same. "Which will be its loss," she says. You shoot her a puzzled look, questioning why she is without her sword.

Peter turns around at the sound of guns being readied and glances to her in confusion as well. "I thought your thing was a sword."

Gamora rolls her eyes. "We've been hired to stop an inter-dimensional beast from feeding on those batteries and I'm going to stop it with a sword?"

"It's just... swords were your thing and guns were Y/N and I's, but I guess we're all doing guns now. I just didn't know that," he mumbles to himself. You chuckle quietly at his defensiveness but Gamora just scoffs.

"I think we can learn to share, Star-Lord," you affirm, shooting Peter a flirtatious glance.

"Man, I love the way you say that."

Waiting a moment, you find Peter's eyes. He appears tense, the sound of you calling him by his desired name repeating over and over again in his head like a broken tape. He unitentionally mumbled about how much he loves it, unable to keep his thoughts to himself. It usually takes a lot to get Peter flusterted, but seductively whispering Star-Lord always seems to do the trick. It drives him wild.

"Perhaps I'll have to call you that more often then," you offer. "Only in specific circumstances, of course."

Peter looks you up and down, that infamous smirk finding its way to his lips. "I can certainly think of a few circumstances, sweetheart."

"Man, I love the way you say that," you mock, copying his voice with a laugh. Peter blushes, averting his gaze and grumbling a few things under his breath.

Gamora looks at Drax, who is shirtless as always, but without proper protection to fight whatever is on its way. "Drax, why aren't you wearing one of Rocket's Aero-Rigs?" she asks in concern.

"It hurts."

"It hurts?" you question.

"I have sensitive nipples."

You and Rocket erupt in laughter. "Wa-ha-ha-ha! My nipples hurt! Oh, goodness me!" Rocket mocks.

"I never thought we'd discuss something like this before a battle," you manage to mutter throughout your giggles. Patting Rocket on the head, he glances up at you with a smile.

"What about him?" Drax questions, gesturing to Rocket who is currently toying with a speaker. "What's he doing?"

"I'm finishing this so we can listen to tunes while we work," he replies.

"How is that a priority?"

"Blame Y/N and Quill, they're the ones who love music so much!" Rocket shouts at his defense.

"No, I actually agree with Drax on this, that's hardly important right now," Peter states.

"Yeah, come on, Rocket! That should be the least of your worries," you say.

He winks at you and Peter. "Oh, okay, sure you guys."

"No, seriously, I side with Drax," Peter asserts, clearly serious, but you just grin at Rocket.

"I understand that you're being very serious right now." He adds a couple more winks after his statement.

"I can clearly see you winking," Drax retorts.

"Damn it, I'm using my left eye?" Rocket asks himself while Groot attacks some Orloni.

He turns to Rocket after terrorizing the creatures, seeking praise. "I am Groot!"

"They were not looking at you funny!" he clarifies. Suddenly, a large, squid-like thing emerges from the clouds. It lands on the deck where you and the Guardians stand surrounded by the batteries. "Oh, well that's intense."

"Oh shit," you mutter.

As the being gets closer, you immediately attack. After only a few short moments, you hear the echo of ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky" playing and you turn your attention to the speaker. Groot had finished putting it together for Rocket and is now dancing about while the rest of you are busting your asses trying to take the beast down. However, you don't mind a little background music while you fight.

Up in the air, you, Rocket, Peter, and Gamora fire several shots at it from your rifles, while Drax attempts to cut it from the ground with his knives. It has a ton of tentacles that swing around at all of you, but you manage to escape its grasp by zooming around with the jetpacks. One of the tentacles hits Peter and he slams into the ground next to Groot. He turns to the baby who is still dancing around too close to the battle.

"Groot!" Peter huffs, quickly being knocked down again by a tentacle.

Another tentacle wraps around Drax and repeatedly pushes him onto the cold floor. You and Rocket fly around it, failing at killing the alien after every fire. Gamora lands carefully and tries shooting at it from another perspective, still unable to wound the beast. She notices Groot waltzing around her now. "Groot, get out of the way! You're going to get hurt!" she yells worriedly. Groot just waves at her with a huge grin on his face. She returns his smile. "Hi," she exhales, going back upward to join the rest of you in the air.

Many moments pass with everyone hovering around the alien, taking as many shots as they can. Every blow has absolutely no effect on the creature who manages to throw some of you about occasionally while flaunting its menacing teeth. It launches Drax on top of the speaker, smashing it into pieces. This is much to Groot's dismay, who stops dancing and punches Drax for ending the song.

Drax gathers himself and stands back up next to you and Gamora. You can see the tiredness in everyone as you lazily fire your guns in hopes something might work soon. "The beast's hide is too thick to be pierced from the outside! I must cut through it from the inside," Drax suggests.

You crinkle your nose in bewilderment. "What?"

"No, Drax!" Gamora calls out after him as he screams toward the alien. "Wait a minute! Drax!" 

"Drax, stop!" The protesting of you and Gamora is no use. He leaps forward and jumps right into its mouth.

Peter lands next to you and takes his mask off. "What's he doing?"

"Hell if I know!" Adjusting your gun, you nod toward the beast. "He said something about cutting that thing from the inside. It sounds brutal and idiotic."

Gamora elaborates. "He said that the skin is too thick to be pierced on the outside so..."

"Wait that doesn't make any sense," Peter cuts her off.

"We tried telling him that!"

"Skin has the same level of thickness from the inside as from the outside!"

"We realize that, genius!" you explain.

"There's a cut on its neck," Peter acknowledges. "Rocket, get it to look up!" He activates his mask again and flies toward the beast's face.

"All right, you giant sea monkey, up here!" Rocket tantalizes as the two of them shoot profusely at it. A few flames exit from its mouth and graze them. "Whoa, watch it, Quill!"

The beast reaches a tentacle out and wraps it around Peter who is now trapped in its hold. Another tentacle takes you and lifts you as you struggle against its disgusting skin. It breathes the rainbow fire at you so you look at Gamora down below for guidance. You are on the verge of failing when Gamora sheathes a sword and sprints toward the gargantuan alien, leaping up to drive her sword into the cut, pulling it all the way down to slice it. It lets go of anything it had its tentacles around and flops right onto the floor.

You find your breath steadily and group up with the rest of the Guardians. You all stand around trying to calm down after the aggressive battle. Drax emerges from the wound Gamora made and laughs. "Yes! I have single-handedly vanquished the beast!" he exclaims. You stare at him in awe, knowing he is unaware of how he literally did nothing. Groot growls and throws an object at him. "What?"

The six of you gather around one of the battery stations, reloading your weapons and cleaning yourselves off. "What are they called again?" Drax asks, referring to the batteries.

"Anulax batteries," Peter responds.

"Harbulary batteries..."

"That's nothing like what I just said!" Peter justifies. "But, they're worth thousands of units apiece, which is why the Sovereign hired us to protect them." He pulls on one of his iconic, red jackets, a longer one this time. He begins making his way to the building with everyone following behind. "Careful what you say around these folks, they're easily offended. The cost of transgression is death."

As you duck inside, a large group of golden people stands before you. This place is freaking you out a bit with how artificial and fake it seems to be. A particular golden woman sits upon a throne, watching you all with her yellow eyes. Her expression is neutral, not showing any signs of emotion. You recognize her as the woman that hired you. She is the High Priestess, Ayesha.

"We thank you, Guardians, for putting your lives on the line," she declares. "We could not risk the lives of our own Sovereign citizens. Every citizen is born exactly as designed by the community: impeccable, both physically and mentally. We control the DNA of our progeny, germinating them in birthing pods."

You gain an uneasy feeling at the way she stares down Peter. The feeling grows when you watch as he smirks up at her. "I guess I prefer to make people the old-fashioned way," he discloses in a seductive voice. Is he flirting with her? All this time has passed without him slipping up and flirting with another girl, but now he chooses to obviously hit on a woman right in front of you. So much for his promise.

"Asshole," you remark, quiet enough for only you to hear.

"Perhaps someday, you could give me a history lesson... in the archaic ways of our ancestors," Ayesha snickers. "For academic purposes, of course..." Your heart sinks at the way she so carelessly flirts back with the man you're in love with. How could you allow yourself to catch feelings for someone you know wants to get in everybody's pants? You knew you couldn't trust him and you curse yourself for believing he could ever change.

Gamora catches your gaze and notices your eyes swelling and hands shaking slightly. She knows how you feel about Peter and she herself has been rooting for the two of you to get together. She has no idea what he is doing as he acts so stupid at this moment.

"I would be honored, yes, in the name of research. I think that could be pretty uh..." his smirk falters as he sees Gamora's death stare. He looks over at you and notices how heartbroken you look. "...pretty repulsive. I'm not into that kind of casual..."

"Oh, please," you groan, cutting him off after he changes his answer. You can't help but think of what an idiot he is. "Can we please just get what you promised us, your majesty? I'd like to head back to my ship now." You roll your eyes as Rocket chuckles at your bold rudeness.

"Yes," Gamora adds. "Your people promised something in exchange for our services. Bring it and we shall gladly be on our way." The Sovereign guards bring a hooded figure into the room and throw her on the ground. They pull back her hood to reveal Nebula. You and Gamora gasp in horror.

"Family reunion, yay!" Peter alleges jokingly. It does not amuse either you or Gamora.

"I understand she is your sister," Ayesha states.

"She is worth no more to us than the bounty due for her on Xandar," Gamora spits, grabbing Nebula harshly. You assist her at holding her back, taking Nebula's other arm into your gripping hand.

Ayesha stands up from her throne. "Our soldiers apprehended her attempting to steal the batteries. Do with her as you please." You and Gamora drag Nebula down the hall as you begin to make your exit from the place. "Oh, and Miss L/N?"

"Yeah?"

Ayesha smirks, a horrid thought crossing her cruel mind. "I apologize for so clearly stepping on your toes." You grit your teeth at her words, lowering your eyelids into a harsh stare. She's talking about flirting with Peter. Nodding at her fake apology, you continue on your way.

"Whatever, bitch," you whisper under your breath, shaking your head in annoyance toward Rocket. He stifles a quiet laugh.

"We thank you, High Priestess Ayesha," Peter says with a fake smile. He is unable to be cheerful after realizing he may have hurt you, especially after the comment Ayesha made. He didn't mean to flirt with the High Priestess and he immediately regrets it. He only wants to flirt with you.

She assesses the group one last time as you all start to head out. She looks down on Peter with slight disgust, much different than how she viewed him earlier. "What is your heritage, Mr. Quill?" she stops him.

"My mother is from Earth."

"And your father?"

He exhales a low laugh. "He ain't from Missouri, that's all I know."

"I see it within you: an unorthodox genealogy," she hisses. "A hybrid that seems particularly...reckless."

You notice Rocket halt in his tracks after hearing Ayesha insult Peter. Everyone turns back to the golden woman at the throne in astonishment. First, she spoke down to you and now she is doing the same to Peter. Who does she think she is?

The raccoon snickers. "You know, they told me you people were conceited douchebags, but that isn't true at all." He adds a wink that is supposed to be directed toward you. The whole room sees and the air fills with gasps. "Oh, shit. I'm using my wrong eye again, aren't I? I'm sorry," he says as Drax picks him up hurriedly, heading for the door with the rest of you. "That was meant to be behind your back!"

Drax tosses him back down once you've reached the doorframe. "Count yourself blessed they didn't kill you," he mutters.

"You're telling me," Rocket chuckles, revealing the many batteries stashed in his bag. "You wanna buy some batteries?" Drax roars in laughter with Rocket shushing him along the way out.

Back on the Milano, Rocket plugs the coordinates in for Xandar after taking his seat at the flight deck. "All right, let's get baldy to Xandar and collect that bounty," he vocalizes, piloting the ship away from the Sovereign.

Peter plays "Lake Shore Drive" by Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah on the speakers from his fairly new "Awesome Mix Vol. 2″. You hum to the soft music, trying to take your mind off of how jealous you are about Peter and the High Priestess. Why does he have the power to make you feel this way? You hate it.

Peter steps out into the hallway from his sleeping quarters. He strips himself from his shirt, his mind on what Ayesha said about his father and how guilty he feels for possibly flirting with someone other than you. He hadn't intended to flirt with Ayesha, she isn't even as close to as beautiful as you are so why would he bother wasting his time? He knows he has every right to flirt with anyone he wants, you and he aren't together, but he feels terrible because he feels like some part of him belongs to you after he made that promise so long ago. He wants to be with you, but it seems like it isn't going to happen.

Peter picks up a long-sleeve gray t-shirt from the ground and sniffs it. It smells pretty clean so he pulls it over himself and glances up to see you checking out his abs. He meets your gaze and you advert your eyes back to Nebula's handcuffs, slightly embarrassed that he caught you. He grins upon seeing you check him out, knowing he can easily persuade you to be flirty with him again. He can't lose what he's worked so hard to build up with you. All Peter has wanted for two months is to kiss you again, and deep down, that's all you want as well. He has been longing for the feeling of your soft, warm lips on his. He knows he can't fuck up what he has with you all because of a misunderstanding.

You can't decide if you're mad at Peter or not, even though you know he can flirt with whoever he wants. Yet, he broke a promise to no longer give in so easily to random women and find a way to commit to you. Even if you're not in a relationship with Peter, there is an unspoken thing keeping the two of you together. You can't live without one another. The way you seem to be ignoring him is not going to work out well for either of you. So, Peter makes an attempt to break the silence. 

"That stuff about my father...who does she think she is?" He asks you, praying for an answer while he adjusts his belt.

"Yeah...I know you're sensitive about that stuff or whatever," you answer quietly, the pain from earlier obviously still fresh and stinging, showing in your tone of voice. You don't want to make him feel bad, but you want it to be visible that you're upset.

"I'm not sensitive about it, I just don't know who he is," Peter defends himself, quickly realizing he should be finding a way to apologize to you, not arguing with you. He wants to make it up to you and have you feeling better. He wishes for a way to make it known he only wants you. "By the way, I'm really sorry if it seemed like I was flirtin' with the High Priestess earlier...I wasn't."

You roll her eyes, but he can easily find the sadness in them. You try your best to hide how hurt you are. "Peter, I seriously don't give a shit who you flirt with."

He grabs your wrist gently and brings himself closer to you, nearly stopping your breathing. "Well, I feel like you do care. I want you to know that I care that it seemed like I was flirtin' with her because I would certainly care if I hurt you. So, I'm sorry."

You pull away from him and start bringing Nebula into the other room. "Drop your ego, dude, you didn't hurt me. I honestly don't care if you hit on girls or even if you bring them back to the Milano to fuck them and ditch them the next day. Do whatever the hell you want," you lie, the words tasting bitter in your mouth. At this point in your friendship, Peter can tell when you are lying.

"Can you start bein' honest with me?" he asks, a hint of anger in his voice. "I know you're upset."

"I'm not upset, Peter," you defend. "If you don't want to commit to something then you don't have to."

"Do you want to commit to somethin'?" Peter questions. He can't help but think that over the past couple of months he has felt like nothing more than a friend to you. There have been instances of romance and several occasions of flirting, yet he can't help but wonder if you even want to be with him anymore. He worries that you've changed your mind. "I've kept my promise for a long time and I truly have changed. I still want you, Y/N, but I have no clue if you want me."

"Yeah, right. You want me and the High Priestess."

"I knew you were mad!"

You sigh, unable to find the right words. "I'm not mad, Peter. I just...I don't know..."

"You just don't like it when I flirt with somebody else." Peter leans in, closing the space between the two of you. "Yet, you also don't show any signs of makin' a move on me, darlin'."

"I didn't realize that was my job."

"I'd have you in my bed in a second if it were up to me." Peter smirks, pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. "I want you, Y/N, only you. I'm sorry I flirted with the High Priestess, but you know I've changed."

"Fine, Peter, if you really feel that bad, then consider yourself forgiven," you assert, glancing down at his lips. You pull yourself away from the man, following Nebula into the next room.

"What? Am I in the friend zone or somethin'?

"Or something..."

Peter groans in annoyance. "You can only resist me for so long, sweetheart!" He calls out after you. He notices the faint smile and slight blush on your face as you leave the room. He has his girl back.

"Y/N is the one for you, Quill," Drax whispers behind Peter, startling him.

"Damn shadow."

"There are two types of beings in the universe... those who dance, and those who do not. You and Y/N are both dancers, so you must fix this nonsense and be together."

"Mhmm," Peter grumbles in response, knowing Drax is absolutely right.

"I first met my beloved at a war rally."

"Oh, god."

"Everyone in the village flailed about, dancing. Except for one woman: my Ovette. I knew immediately she was the one for me. The most melodic song in the world could be playing, she wouldn't even tap her foot, wouldn't move a muscle! One might assume she was dead," Drax conveys.

"That does sound pretty hot," Peter replies sarcastically.

"It would make my nether regions engorge."

Peter cringes at those words. "Okay! I get it, yes," he tries to end this conversation. "Y/N and I are meant to be because we're both dancers."

Drax places a hand on Peter's back. "You have found the perfect woman, even though you are too pathetic to do anything about it."

"I've been tryin' to do something about it!"

"Do or do not, Quill," Drax says. "There is no try."

Peter furrows his brows. "Did you just quote Star Wars?"

"I have no idea what that is."

Drax wanders off and Peter rests against the doorframe for a moment, contemplating what he could do. He doesn't want to flirt with other girls and he has been avoiding those encounters ever since he met you, vowing to keep his promise. He hasn't brought another girl back to the Milano because he only has eyes for you. Any stranger, no matter what planet they're from, can compare to you. There is no number of one night stands than compete with the way you make him feel. Peter loves the way you sing and dance with him. He lives for the conversations you two have where you talk about music, crack up at the jokes you tell one another, or share stories from your lives on Terra. His favorite moments are the ones after long missions when you're both so exhausted, and you accidentally fall asleep and end up cradled in his arms for the night. He also loves the following mornings where you would be wrapped up in one another and not even care as you share groggily smiles upon waking up. He only wants you and he needs you to crave him as he craves you. Peter sighs deeply at these thoughts.

Star-Lord is in love.