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The sky grew dim as the sun began to set. A cool breeze flowed through the overgrowth of Behert as the 4 adults made their way through.

Gamora continued to scold Peter to behave and not be competitive like he did with Thor. The couple led the way while Ava was stuck with Poe who was behind her. His droid trailed along her side as BB-8 was already attached to Ava. It made her smile a bit at the innocence the droid carried. She also wondered how a sweet little robot survived being with someone like Poe.

"You going to say anything to me, Star-Princess? Or how long are you planning to keep this awkward silence." Poe questioned after a few long minutes of quiet between the two.

Ava glanced back at him with a glare as an annoyed sigh escaped her lips. "Well, I was trying to enjoy my peace until you just ruined it."

She pushed a branch to the side and held it for Poe. He only shrugged in response without much remorse.

"Thanks, sweetheart." He winked at her as he took a step forwards. Ava returned a fake smile at him before releasing her grip.

SMACK

Poe stubbled and grimaced at the pain from the slap of the leaves. BB-8 made a robotic chuckle as his master hid his embarrassment with a frown.

"What the crink was that for!?"

"Are you done?" She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"Done with what?" Poe scoffed as he rubbed where his face stung, annoyed with her spunky attitude. On the other hand, Ava enjoyed it very much.

"I mean are you done with the nicknames?" Ava called him out and continued to walk without waiting for Poe.

He groaned as he caught up to her. "I mean your brother, star-prince has one. Must run in the family so I'm just trying to guess yours."

He earned another side stare from Ava who didn't respond for a moment. She didn't need to tell him anything and she was going to keep it that way.

"I don't have one."

"C'mon, I feel like you have one," Poe whined as if he wasn't satisfied with her reply. "Admit it, you have one. Or I will just have to make one for you." He teased, a bad habit of his even though he had advanced to a General. Especially when someone like Ava gets irritated by his comments.

"You can call me Ava." She said sternly, doing her best to not lose her temper.

He grabbed her arm and moved himself to be by her side. "Hmmm, but that's boring." Poe retorted.

Ava ripped her arm away and glared at him. "Are you trying to make me hate you? Because it's working."

Poe kept his eyes on her as he snickered. "I doubt it. No one hates on Poe Dameron."

"Then I'll be the first." Ava rolled her eyes at his comment and was tired of his pestering. She rushed a few steps forward to be closer to Gamora and Peter in front of her. Praying that the gap between her and Poe would shut him up.

"There she is! Benatar sweet Benatar!" Peter announced and gestured his hand to the ship.

Thank Odin in Valhalla.

Knowing if she heard one more remark from Poe, it wouldn't look pretty for him.

The commander of the resistance looked at the Benatar in awe. He examined the ship as if it were Christmas lights. His wide eyes led him to walk over to get a closer observation.

His childlike expression was a major contrast to his smooth words.

"It's cool, isn't it?" Ava asked just as Poe walked up to the ship and place his hand on it. His grin returned and that little kid stare had vanished.

"Yeah, I can't wait to test it out tomorrow." Poe said with his voice as smooth as ice.

Peter snorted at the comment and shook his head as he walked past the pair.

"That's cute, but you aren't taking my ship."

"Our ship." Ava corrected with a scoff towards her brother.

Gamora groaned at the banter before clarifying the plan. "You will be taking the pod."

Poe nodded with a huff with slight disappointment and was considering whether he should steal the Benatar or not.

Catching her off guard, Ava felt two branch-like arms around her that picked her up. She smiled as she knew who it was.

"How's my favorite tree?" Ava giggled while the teenager squeezed her before setting her down.

"I am Groot." He said as they pulled out of the hug.

Ava let out a huge gasp and lightly punched his arm. Not too hard due to getting splinters and bruises in the past.

"You beat that boss level without me!?"

"I am Groot." He admitted with an innocent smug.

"Don't expect me to help you on the next one." She scolded a finger up at the tree who was only an inch taller.

Groot turned his head and examined the space pilot who mirrored the creature. The two inspecting each other as if they just saw a mind blowing performance at a circus.

"What in the world is that!?" Poe examined as he tried to wrap around his head a walking tree that was also talking. He had never seen anything like it before in the galaxy.

"His name is Groot," Ava answered as she crossed her arms, not liking the way he classified her friend as an object.

"Yeah, I think I got that," Poe noted. "What is he?"

"He's a Flora colossus." She responded, choosing to ignore the sass. "Pretty much a human tree."

"I am Groot?"

"Who's the man in the funny orange space suit?" Ava snickered as she pointed a thumb at the stranger. "This is Poe. Poe this is Groot." She introduced the two.

"I am Groot."

"He said it's nice to meet you."

Poe raised an eyebrow. "How do you understand a tree that says the same 3 words?"

"The same way you understand you're droid who only makes beeping noises." She huffed her tone becoming more irritated the more she he heard his voice.

"Excuse me," Poe exclaimed as he pointed a finger in her face. "BB-8 is intelligent. Probably more than Mr. Tree here!"

Groot put on an angry face before sticking his little tongue at the new guy.

Ava couldn't help but cackle at the new rivalry before her. "Congratulations. The Poe Dameron has earned two haters in one day." She said before storming off to greet Nebula, Rocket, Drax, and Mantis were all near the ship, waiting for the trio to return.

Nebula stood there with folded arms, looking like she want to plan Ava's death once again.

"Took you three long enough." Nebula criticized as she was leaning against the Benatar with her arms crossed.

"Be grateful we are all back in one piece Nebula, while you've been sitting here all comfortable we had to deal with this pain in the neck." Ava retorted as she kept her voice down to not let Poe overhear that last part.

Nebula mumbled something to herself in response before walking over to her sister.

Rocket pointed with his hand-like paw. "I'm assuming that is this that bozo we came to help?" He asked.

Ava nodded and bit her lip, wanting to forget this all happened.

A gentle touch on her forearm made her flinch and find two black alien eyes.

"You are very stressed." Mantis stated the obvious, filed with concern for her younger half-sister. "You're also very exhausted because of the strange man-"

Ava pulled her arm away to prevent Mantis from saying anything else. "Good observation Mantis."

The sound of Rocket snickering caught her attention and she sneaked her way to the scene. The raccoon was on all fours. Kneeling but bending over with his arm over his stomach and gasping for air. Pounding the ground with his other paw.

"You flew into, an Asteroid field!?" He gasped for air in between laughing causing Poe to scowl with a scoff. Rocket attempted to catch his breath on the ground, but was having way to much fun picking on Poe. "What kind of idiot does that!?

"An idiot named Poe Dameron." Ava stated with an intrigued smirk.

Poe's face became infused with anger and his face turned red. "Do you even know who I am Stargirl!? I am the best pilot in the galaxy, commander of the Black Squadron and a Resistance General." He stated, hoping he would earn respect. Except he didn't.

However Ava knew the war that had just been triggered.

"Look how serious this guy is! 'I am the best pilot in the galaxy.'" Rocket said as he did an impression of the stranger. "Listen here, you may think your a hotshot, but I'm the best pilot in the entire galaxy! You maybe better than Quill but no one is better than me." He finished with a thumb tapping his chest.

"Hey! I'm the better pilot." Peter snapped, getting involved.

Ava huffed out a laugh and made eye contact with Drax. "Here we go again." She whispered to him. Drax chuckled as he knew what she meant as the two placing bets on how long this argument would last and who'd win.

"Well I have helped destroyed a giant Death Star and Exegol, something I'm sure that neither of you have done." Poe bragged proudly as he placed his hands on his hips.

Drax spoke up and questioned his statement. "Is it a star that died? You killed a star?"

"Did I kill a star? What? No!" Poe yelled and shook his head with frustration. "It's the home base of the First Order. The dark side? Doesn't that ring a bell for you?"

"I didn't hear any bell." Drax responded with a shrug.

Poe sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Kylo Ren, Snoke or Darth Vader? Heard of those names before?" Poe added.

The Guardians all looked at each other, having no clue to what he was talking about.

Like the others, Ava wished she could understand but everything thing that came out of Poes mouth seemed out of her knowledge. Even with years of studying the stars and she never felt so helpless.

Spending hours and hours of identifying countless planets, naming species of aliens and barely an expert in measuring distance of space travel. She shook her head with remorse.

"We're sorry." Ava said. "We don't know about any of that."

Poe let out a long sigh while rubbing a hand over his face, then staring at the group for a moment. "I am either trapped in a nightmare or you guys have been living under a rock for the last several years."

You have no idea. Ava thought.

Although Ava didn't know alot about Poe, but curiously wondered about if the Blip effect his home. Did he have a family? Friends he missed? Did they disappear? Or was even himself gone for 5 years?

She looked over as Gamora cleared her throat, with a warning. Shaking her head as a caution to keep Ava from spilling that truth.

Ava obeyed and respected that. Telling him while already stressed may not be the best time to tell him. Instead, she placed a gentle hand on Poe's shoulder. He flinched but caught Ava's worried glance, causing him to freeze.

"We only want to help to the best with can." Ava said, remembering why she wanted to come here in the first place. "We can do whatever you need us too."

Poe scoffed while ripped his eyes away from hers. No one knew what to say. Only pity filled the tension as he scanned the others before returning back to Ava. Stepping back to let her hand naturally fall off.

"Just get me that ship tomorrow and you'll never have see me again." He said with a grunt.

Without another word, Poe left with BB-8 towards the outskirts of the forest and found a small boulder to sit on. Unaware that those tender blue eyes were still glued on him.

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Drax had put together a stew for dinner. The man had a secret love for cooking as Ava discovered once and was very impressed. He made tons of specialties he once made for his wife and daughter, now sharing his gift with his new family.

The stew didn't contain much as they were low on food. It reminded Ava of chicken noodle soup, but replace everything with space food.

"Drax, you've done it again!" Peter exclaimed as he ate another bite.

"Mmmhmm!" Ava agree with a mouthful and nodded with a smile.

The soft destroyer chuckled. "I knew you'd like it little Quill." A nickname some of the Guardians called her. She didn't like it at first, but overtime it grew on her.

Rocket almost gagged after each spoonful of stew. "How can you eat something that has barely any taste in it?" He said to her quietly.

Ava shook her head, wondering if raccons have different taste buds. "I'll finish yours if you don't want it."

At an instant, Rocket handed his bowl to her immediately. She held up her spoon to her mouth but hesitated.

The outcast in the jumpsuit was slouched against the rock that was bit out of ways from the fire. He didn't say much and wore a scowl on his face. Barely touching the food in his bowl.

Poe didn't need to look up to know there was mutiple pair of eyes on him. He cleared his throat, coming out of his trance and set his bowl down. "I'm just going to go on a walk." He said with a sigh as his little droid made a few noises before following him towards the woods.

"Pst!" Ava heard across from her and saw her brother looking at her.

"What?" Ava mouthed as her brother's eyes flickered to her bowl.

"You gonna eat that or what?" Peter whispered, acknowledging the stew she had on her lap and shook her head.

Ava then took her chance and follow the man with the droid. Keeping a fair distance and doing her best to not seem like a creep.

Only about 2 or 3 minutes went by without being noticed, until she tripped on a root, creating a loud thud on the forest floor.

BB-8 turned around with happy beeps, notifying Poe. The droid rolling over to Ava like an excited puppy wanting to lick the face of a stranger. Ava acknowledged BB-8 with a pat before glancing up at the man stopping in his track above his stalker. Crossing his arms with an eyebrow raised.

"First of all, you're terrible at sneaking around. Second you shouldn't follow people who want to be alone." He said.

Ava frowned back at him as she got on her feet and wiping off the dirt. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you didn't get lost in this crazy jungle and I-"

"I appreciate it Blondie." Poe shook his head with a laugh, taking a step forward. "But you're not my babysitter. None of you are." He dropped his focus to the ground and let out a long sigh.

Ava laughed lightly to try and lighten the mood. "Sorry if we are making you overwhelmed or are too much to handle. It's how I felt when I first met them-"

"Like I care?" He snapped as he looked up, cutting off her ramble. He took another step closer so he was right in front of her. "I'm going to leave tomorrow and forget this ever happened."

The intimidating voice had returned and Ava took a step back.

"What's the harm? I bet you probably have a sad lonely life being a captain of a fleet who bosses everyone around all day." She replied, matching his condescending tone. "Glad I'm not apart of it. Must be hard for them to trust you."

Poe let out a snort. "Easy to trust you and your fellow clowns? Yeah very promising. Do you even trust me?"

The question caught her off guard. She didn't know how to respond. She wanted to say yes, but instead she shook her head. "I would if you opened up a little."

"Good luck with that sweetheart." He pointed out and tilted his head to the side as he scanned me with his eyes. "Opening up to strangers is dangerous and sometimes you run into betrayal."

Ava squinted her eyes. "Not always."

"You always got that optimisic attitude don't you? Even though you did nothing but whine when you found me." Poe said without much expression.

"I did not whine!" She scoffed at that comment, but regained her calmness. "Being optimistic and hopeful better than your self-centered mindset. I bet that back where you come from, is super depressing because you have no friends."

A heavy silence created tension as his eye were digging Ava's soul. She could have sworn she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes before he squinted.

"You don't know what your talking about." He stated calmly, having enough as he stormed off fuming.

BB-8 looking up at Ava and made some sad noises. Poe looked over his shoulder.

"She won't understand you buddy, it's pointless. Now c'mon!" He said impatiently as his droid followed him slowly.

Ava stood there and watch him go deeper into the overgrowth. The ache in her chest grew. Did he really have it that bad to seem so hurt? She wanted to help him and listen to his life story. However, the hatred she had for him dominated her emotions. Ava groaned and started to head back to the ship. She was so frustrated she wanted to yell.

She did.

Proceeding to kick the pebbles on the ground and plants before punching a tree. She hissed at the sting that came after and held her fist with a scowl.

"Is this what I get for following my gut to help someone!?" She cursed out loud as if some being in the universe could hear or even care. Ava paced around the forest floor as she mumbled a little above a whisper. "Some ungrateful and arrogant space pilot who has no respect and is the biggest a-hole of all time-"

Her mouth shut, as she turned to see man in the orange jumpsuit. Ava cursed herself as she probably looked like a fool, not being aware that Poe wasn't far enough to miss her rant.

Instead of giving him pity, she crossed her arms and shook her head before she left Poe in the woods.

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