Peter set the Milano steadily following a course back to the location Yondu ordered them to rendezvous at. Absent of having to manually pilot, the two were free to relax. 

Charlie had her feet propped up on the kitchen table. Reading about the recent galaxy celebrity drama, she munched on another bowl of cereal. 

Peter stood opposite of her, studying the orb curiously. By his bare eye, he found absolutely nothing special about it. He wanted to understand why people attacked them for the seemingly normal ball of silver. 

A ring sounded from their television.

Charlie glanced at the top of the tablet she read from. She groaned.

"Who is it?" asked Peter.

"Who do you think it is?" she muttered, swiping the notification away from her screen. 

Peter pursed his lips. "Okay, hear me out: what if we keep it?"

Charlotte's eyes narrowed at him.

"People want it," he continued, tossing the orb between his hands, "don't tell me I'm the only one itching to find out why, Charlie girl."

Charlotte dipped her head back in a humorless laugh. "Sure, but I'm not exactly itching to face Yondu's wrath after he finds out we had no intention of giving it to him."

"That is exactly why we're going to lie our asses off," encouraged Peter.

A protest wasn't able to occur in the amount of time between his words and his action of hitting the answer button on his own beeping tablet. He greeted their blue acquaintance cheerfully. 

Yondu squinted at the two. "Why are your asses not on my ship?"

"Galaxy traffic," responded Peter, throwing his hands up hopelessly in the air.

"Hey, Yondu!" called Charlie. She held up a peace sign. "We'll be there as fast as we can."

Yondu nodded, falling for their lie. "Okay. Don't you forget I saved your asses from being eaten. You owe me!"

Simultaneously, Peter and Charlie rolled their eyes. He disconnected the call. 

Charlie sauntered to the cockpit. Bending over the tablet present on the console, she searched for the nearest pawn shop. 

"What's the closest?" asked Peter, squeezing past to sit in his chair. 

"Xandar, I suppose," she answered. 

Peter changed the coordinates. By habit, he flipped on the audio player installed into the console. Elvin Bishop came from the speakers. 

"I must have been through about a million girls

I'd love 'em then I'd leave 'em alone

I didn't care how much they cried, no sir

Their tears left me cold as a stone

But then I fooled around and fell in love

I fooled around and fell in love, yes I did..."

Charlie closed her eyes. Stepping behind his chair, she swayed softly to his sweet voice.

As quietly as possible, Peter swung around in the chair to watch her dance. It was one of the numerous things he loved to see her do. He stared at her with utter admiration. 

Being together all these years brought on a love for the small girl. What type of love, he couldn't answer. Up until the night she beat a Kree woman from attempting to rip out his thorax, he thought of her as a best friend. Seeing Charlie enraged over him changed the way he saw her. 

Peter was beginning to tire of brushing romantic actions, such as hugs or kisses on the cheek, off as a part of their tight bond. He felt differently about his best friend in some way, though he knew he wouldn't admit it to her first. The embarrassment alone if she didn't feel the same would slaughter his ego.

Hinting at his change in feelings was not out of his limit. To start, Peter raised the volume. Cautiously, he stepped closer to Charlie. 

She didn't think twice before she spun into his personal space, allowing him to place his hands on her body. Unable to reach up to his shoulders, she settled her free hand on his chest. Together, they swayed in synchronization, slowly beginning to realize how at ease they felt in each other's arms.

It was then the console beeped, the ship reminding them that arrival on Xandar called for a manual landing. 

Unwillingly, Charlie released him, secretly hoping another significant moment such as that would happen again soon. 

xxxx

Inside of the Pawn Shop, Peter stuck his hand into Charlie's pocket to retrieve the orb. She had been fixated on the knickknacks on the shelves to speak with the Broker. He set it down on the counter. 

"What is this?" demanded the Broker. 

Peter shrugged. "Ronan's goons were after it."

At the mention of his name, the Broker allowed the orb to drop from his hands. Startled, he began to backtrack from the orb. He wiped his hands against his shirt as though he had submerged them in utter filth. 

"Hey! What the hell?!" snapped Peter. 

Charlie bent down to grab the orb from the floor.  

"No! I will have nothing to do with Ronan! Nothing!" cried the Broker. 

He grabbed a magazine, rolled it, then shuffled around the counter, hitting the duo repeatedly. He chased them from the store. He waved his hands wildly, causing the door to slam shut. It refused to open again. 

Irritated, Peter punched the door. 

Charlie lightly hit his arm with the back of her hand. 

"What's the story?"

Their heads turned to the source; a green skinned woman was leaning casually on the wall directly outside of the store. She bit into her apple, her gaze lingering a moment too long on the silver ball Charlie clutched in her hand. 

"Well," began Peter. 

"We couldn't come to terms on negotiation," interrupted Charlie. "Hope you have better luck than us."

Charlie then slid her hand down Peter's wrist, locking their fingers together. She tugged him away. Subtly, she slipped the orb into his pocket. 

"Was it just me, or do you have a bad feeling about her?" wondered Charlie softly. 

"Just you," said Peter. 

"How much do you want to bet?"

"I don't bet."

Charlie raised her eyebrow. 

"Not on this," he corrected. 

Seconds later, Charlie was tackled to the concrete. By default, Peter fell, too, due to their hands being interlocked. He didn't hesitate to scramble for the Milano. 

The green woman and Charlie rolled across the pavement, each surprised at how their opponent was not easily taken down. Both underestimated one another. However, the green woman was faster than Charlie. 

She managed to stick one foot underneath Charlie's back, then the other on the side of her waist. She threw her body with an incredibly strong amount of force, which sent Charlie flying from the bridge. 

Charlie shrieked for the entirety she flipped through the sky. From the air, she was snatched and brought to an abrupt stop. Her eyes flew open. 

A joyous tree stared back at her. He said, "I am Groot!"

"And I am Charlotte," she replied, tugging at the branches wrapped tightly around her torso. "Please let me down now." 

"Not so fast, sister!" shouted a voice. 

Charlie peered over the branches. She found a raccoon glaring up at her. Amused, she called, "Who are you supposed to be, Ranger Rick?"

The raccoon bared his teeth at her. He stalked away. 

Groot, the tree, shifted her into his other hand. He placed her on his shoulder, following after the raccoon. 

"No, I need to go the other way. My friend is the other way," insisted Charlie. 

The raccoon waved his hand lazily in the air. "She's got just as much money on her head as the other dude. We've got one; we don't need the other!"

Charlie ripped a loosely hanging branch from Groot. She whipped it at the raccoon, successfully halting his walk. He pointed his gun directly at her face. 

"Repeat yourself!" she ordered. 

"You--" he paused to point at her, then wave his hand in another direction. "--and the other one are wanted. Groot and I are gonna be rich bringing you in."

"Wanted by who?" she asked.

The raccoon shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you know?" she asked Groot. 

"I am Groot!"

Charlie nodded. "Got it. Well, Groot, you can let me walk by myself. I won't run off."

Groot let her down instantly. 

Charlie frowned as she walked alongside him. She couldn't believe she was deceiving a tree. Remorsefully, she patted his leg. He smiled down at her. She whimpered in sadness. 

"I'm sorry, buddy," she sighed. 

Then, Charlie sprinted to Town's Square in search of Peter and the orb. Almost immiedetly after entering into the Square, her name was shouted from the bridge. Peter, panicked, flung the silver orb at her. 

Charlie raised her hand into her hair to catch it. 

The green woman launched herself from the bridge 

Groot and his raccoon friend ran after Charlie. 

She expected impact from one of the three variables. She was prepared to catch the orb, or to be tackled by the raccoon, or to be fought by the green woman. 

However, none of the above occurred, because the orb never made it into anyone's hands. It was frozen in the air by a yellow light, one that belonged to a member of the Nova Corps. 

Charlie tried to run. She was caught in the same light as the orb. It lifted her from the ground, withholding her from running, or movement at all. She couldn't see who else was captured, but something told her she wasn't the only one. 

Charlotte was correct. Green lady, angry rodent, Groot, and Peter were drawn into the ship as well. The group were currently residing at a prision called the Kyln.

"So, what's your name, raccoon?" Charlie asked.

The animal glanced around. "What's a raccoon?"

"What's a raccoon.." Peter scoffed, "It's what you are, stupid."

"Ain't nothing like me except me," Rocket claimed, pointing proudly at himself.

"I am Groot!"

"So what?" Peter snapped, "What's up with Giving Tree here?"

"He no talk like you an' me. His vocabulary is limited to three words. 'I' and 'am' and 'Groot'. Exclusively in that order," Rocket explained.

Charlie turned around to smile at the tree. Peter raised his eyebrow at her action, to which she shrugged. It wasn't her fault she loved the tree.

"What's the deal with the orb?" Charlotte decided to ask Gamora.

"I will not answer to worthless scum such as you," The green woman protested.

Rocket muttered something under his breath that only Gamora heard.

His voice louder he said, "Yeah, that's right. I know who you are."

"Yeah, we know who you are!" Peter called. He leaned forward to Charlotte's ear. "Who is she?"

Charlotte shook her head, looking to Rocket for explanation. She discovered Gamora was the daughter of Thanos.

"I do not wish to retrieve the orb for Ronan," Gamora spoke up, "I agreed to sell it to a third party."

Nevertheless, Charlotte was highly skeptical of her.

They went through a body scan and identifier. On the way to where they would be bathed, Peter caught a guard listening to his Walkman.

"Hey! That's mine!" Peter shouted.

Charlotte cringed as the guard tazed Peter.

"Hooked on a feeling," Peter wheezed out. "Blue suede. 1973! That song belongs to me!"

Saying that resulted in five more rounds of tazering for Peter. Charlotte painfully looked at him when he was thrown back into the line. She tried to give him a reassuring smile. He ignored it. Sighing, she carried on walking.

"God, I hope it isn't a public shower," She mumbled.

Turns out it wasn't, but it was just as bad. Maybe even worse. The guards made her strip down to only her bra and underwear before ushering her into another room.

Orange liquid shot at her from every direction, soaking her entire body. It felt like slime to her and it smelled horrendous.

"Water! Water! For the love of god, give me water!" She yelled.

Her wish was granted. A big sigh of relief left her mouth. Charlotte wiped the slime off of her body and out from her tangled hair.

The water shut off far too quickly for her liking.

A fresh pair of black underwear and a bra were thrown into the room, followed by two guards. Each grabbed one of her arms, lifting her off the ground and carrying her to another room. They tossed her into it.

As soon as she was on her feet, she lunged for them, only to be stopped by flying machines with tazers. The machines stared down at her.

A low whistle caught her ears.

Turning around, she found Rocket and Peter staring at her.

Eyes wide as saucers, she wrapped her arms around her body to cover as much as she could.

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of, girlie," Rocket said, flirtily winking at her.

Charlotte glared at him. "Back off, furball!"

Peter hurried forward with his towel, holding it out in front of her. It left him only in his underwear. 

Charlotte tried to check him out without making it obvious. Impressed wouldn't be suitable for her thoughts on his body. Peter was perfect.

Sensing she was staring, she quickly looked down at the chipped nails polish on her toenails.

"Thanks, Petey," She mumbled.

Charlotte found a pile of clothes on the bench across from where Rocket was.

Making sure they weren't paying attention, she changed into her new clothing behind a large pillar. It was a yellow pair of pants with a matching shirt.

Charlotte nodded to the pair when she was finally done. Rocket led the other two towards the next door.

Groot and Gamora joined them.

For some reason, the prisoners went ballistic when they arrived.

Charlotte debated on who to ask. Groot would respond in his normal three word way; Peter most likely wouldn't know. Rocket was her best bet.

Charlotte flicked the back of his head, bending down for him to hear her. "Why are they mad?"

Rocket nodded towards Gamora. "A number of people here will want to kill her. It would be a miracle if she was even alive tomorrow."

"Won't the guards stop them?" Peter cut in, having heard the conversation.

"I doubt it," Charlotte objected. "It's not their responsibility to keep us from killing each other."

"She's right," Rocket agreed.

Charlotte rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She pitied the green woman. Gamora had attacked her, but that didn't mean the woman deserved to die.

Gamora was led through the right hallway; the rest were shoved down the left.

Charlotte bit the inside of her cheek, wanting to follow Gamora and offer protection. But it seemed like Gamora could handle herself.

Charlotte trailed behind the boys.

Thousands of men and women were curled up on the floor. No beds. Most of them didn't have blankets.

Granted, it was the way they preferred sleeping, considering they were probably super macho.

Charlotte was different. She slept with four blankets at the most every night. That room was a nightmare to her.

"I'm definitely not made for jail," She commented, pouting.

Peter slipped his hand into hers. "Just stay with me."

Groot fell asleep in the corner of the room, Rocket curled up by his feet.

Peter and Charlotte were a few people down from them. Their hands were still interlocked, neither feeling the need to pull away.

"Rocket was right, you know," Peter whispered.

"About what?" Charlotte asked, turning her head to look at him.

Peter wetted his lips. "You really shouldn't be ashamed," was all he said before he closed his eyes, preparing to sleep.

Charlie let the smile take over her face. She was still uncomfortable about the raccoon seeing her body, but at least now, there was a decent memory out of it.

She looked out across the room. Dozens of people were draped over each other in their slumber.

Glancing back to her best friend, Charlotte hesitated, nervous about making the first move.

Maybe that can change..

Charlotte scooted closer to Peter, lifting up his left arm and ducking underneath it. She set her head on his shoulder, curling her legs up in the process.

Peter slowly draped his arm over her waist, using his other one as a pillow. Sleeping near each other was a familiar thing; sleeping with each other wasn't.

It went without saying that they both loved it.