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     The sounds of store owners offering special deals and the smell of Xandarian food markets made Ava's heart swoon. She may have grown up in Missouri, but she favored the city and window shopping. Seeing the variety of people walking around New York when she became a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Except when aliens and other threats are trying to ruin the aesthetic every once in a while.

That was until her first visit at Xandar and nothing could compare. The atmosphere was magical and so alive that gave Ava energy like no other city in the universe.

After looking at a virtual bookstore- in which Poe lost his attention span in 5 minutes while Ava almost grabbed every book off of the shelf- She dragged him to her favorite store: 

Galactic Sugar Sweets

As they entered, she noticed Poe's intrigued glimpse at the display case filled with goodies that he had never seen before. It was like he was a little child at a candy store when his eyes widened with a hint of uncertainty.

"What in the kriff is all that!?" Poe asked pointing at rock-shaped treats.

Ava had to restrain herself from laughing at the unusual curse word. He sent her a glare, and she bit her lip, knowing she was caught. She nudged his arm with her elbow with a small giggle escaping her mouth.

"If I answer it won't be as fun."

She tapped the holographic service button at the front, while Poe grimaced at the strange treats.

A Xandarian teenage girl walked up with her head down. She looked human, except her skin was pink. She had brown hair tied back into four ponytails.

"Welcome to Galactic-" The girl finally looked up and made eye contact with Ava and let out a giant gasp.

"Ava!"

The girl dashed around the counter and squeezed her arms around her. "I heard you guys were in town!"

"It's been way too long munchkin." Ava smiled as she rested one of her hands on her head with the other on her back.

The younger girl pulled out and noticed a new face. She looked up and down at the handsome man as her big purple eyes grew suspicious.

"Ava, you didn't tell me you got a boyfriend." She said with a sly smile while wiggling her eyebrows at Ava.

The two shared a panic expression but turned away quickly to cover the blush creeping on their cheeks. Ava crossed her arms and stared anywhere but at Poe. The guy also avoided eye contact as he scratched the back of his head while keeping his eyes on the tiled floor.

Ava didn't know what to say. His physical appearance wasn't a problem, it was the fact that she didn't know anything else about him. She had to constantly remind herself that she can't just fall in love with a hot guy she only met 48 hours ago. This wasn't a Disney movie where she would be married to a stranger within a week.

Breaking the awkward tension, Ava cackled with a snort. "Heavens no! No, not in a million years would I get with this guy. Gross!"

Poe frowned but played along.

"Her?" He said with the attitude of a gossip girl in the high school hallway. "Not a chance."

Ava shot daggers at him and punched his shoulder.

She cleared her throat. "Anyways, this is a-hole is Poe. Poe this is Duranna Dey." Ava introduced the two as they shook hands.

"Poe is staying with us until we can get him home. He got himself hit in an Asteroid field." She added her favorite detail.

He scoffed with a raised eyebrow directed towards Ava. "You had to bring that up again, blondie?"

Ava shrugged with a tilt of the head. "Yeah. Because it's pretty boring if I don't."

It was payback for many of his sarcastic comments. With a personality like his, she could imagine how many swooned when he entered a room. The number of times he flirted or used corny pick-up lines. Or the number of women he had probably kissed on his base. 

Lucky girls.

The younger girl chuckled, bringing Ava out of her daydream. Duranna put her hands over her mouth. "I thought every pilot knew not to fly into those."

Poe almost protested again but Ava hit him with her elbow and crouched down to look at the selection of treats.

"So Duranna, what do you suggest a non-Xandarian should try?" Ava asked before rising back up.

Duranna went back behind the front desk. "We've got frozen Fuji Bananas, Sweet Spirals, and Black Globzoik bites." She said as she showed us the options.

Ava's eyes widened at the Black Globzoik bites before she pointed at the plate full of them. "Definitely want one of those and we'll do two frozen Fuji Bananas." She noticed Poe who had his nose scrunched in disgust.

Poe raised an eyebrow. "How do I know it's not a prank? And that it's not going to poison me?"

Ava gasped and put her hand on her chest. "After what? 2 or 3 days and you still don't trust me, Dameron?"

"Not really." He huffed with a teasing smirk. She rolled her eyes with a soft laugh escaping her lips. She adjusted the jean jacket she was wearing before sticking her hands in the pockets.

"Seriously? You know now I'm not a bounty hunter and you're in good hands." Ava knitted her eyebrows and stared up at him. Poe examined her with his eyes. Looking her up and down as if she had a trick up her sleeve. Ava had enough of his suspicions of her and put a hand on his upper arm. 

"I promise that I'm not pulling a prank on you." Ava reassured. Poe didn't respond, he only gazed down at the contact. She realized that her hand lingered longer than she meant it to. Ava immediately removed her hand and used it to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Fine," He finally spoke, giving Ava relief. She was so embarrassed to have touched him and wanted to hide in the bathroom if he remained silent. 

"But if I get poisoned or put to sleep, it's on you."

Ava shook her head with a laugh and turned back to Duranna. "How many units?"

Duranna shook her head. "No need for that. Since you are part of the Guardians of the Galaxy discount this is for free."

Ava rolled her eyes, knowing too well that such a deal didn't exist.

"At least take this. You deserve it." She said as she transferred a few units.

"Two frozen Fuji Bananas and one Globzoik coming up." Duranna scoffed before she took care of the order.

Ava looked back a Poe as he came next to her and leaned on the counter. They watched as Duranna put scoops of frozen Fuji Bananas on two sweet cones.

"What's a Fuji Banana and Globzoik?" Poe asked in a whisper.

Ava realized she had tried so many foods while being in space that it wasn't a major concern of it being unfamiliar. She was usually too hungry to think about what she put in her mouth. It was also helpful to know what was edible with Peter's judgment.

She shrugged. "I've never really thought about it, but a Fuji Banana is a fruit and it's very sweet. Earth has a similar food but it's yellow and blander in my opinion." She explained as she described the food in question with hand gestures. "As for the Black Globzoik, it looks like a rock, but it's addicting!"

"Interesting." Poe nodded as he continued to inspect the treats Duranna was preparing. 

Ding! 

"Two frozen FujiBananass and a black Globzoik. Enjoy!" The teen piped as she handed one cone to Ava and one to Poe.

Duranna placed a hand on Ava's arm, stopping her for a moment as she whispered. "Please go for him. You two are very cute together." The teenager beamed as if she was watching a rom-com film before her eyes. 

Ava shook her head with a glare. "The Globzoik bites?" 

She stood there, ignoring the comment while putting her hand out. Waiting for Duranna to fulfill the request from her customer.

Duranna frowned in disappointment and placed the paper bag in Ava's hand.

"Bye! Good to meet you, Poe!" The girl waved before walking back to move some boxes in the back.

Poe returned a lazy finger waved back at her and opened the door. "Nice to meet you two, sweetheart." He replied and sent her his iconic wink. Ava scoffed when the young Xandarian sighed after letting a small giggle because of the pilot.

Ava snatched the collar of Poe's shirt and dragged him outside the store. 

"What Blondie!?" Poe whined and pulled away from her grip. He clenched his jaw and crossed his arms. Ava stared back at him trying to decide whether to dump everything she hates about him or not. She wanted to express how gorgeous he was but she also wanted to slap him for being so oblivious and stuck up.  

"Nothing flyboy," Ava said through her teeth and rolled her eyes. "You try the frozen Fuji Banana yet?"

Poe raised his eyebrows and presented another teasing smile. "Look who's using nicknames now."

She glared at him and wanted to change the subject. "You try it yet?" She asked, pointing at the ice cream cone in his hand. Poe shook his head as he inspected the treat, his nose scrunching up at how weird it looked. Unlike a normal banana, it had a hint of blue mixed in with the canary color.

Ava noticed the concern on his face and belted out a laugh. "Relax you big baby! It's just ice cream!"

"Ice Cream?" He frowned as he looked over at Ava, waiting for her to elaborate. 

"Earth's translation to the best dessert." She clarified simply as she licked her frozen treat and her eyes rolled back in satisfaction. The sweetness of the fruit made her tastebuds happy. "Just try it! It's really good!"

Poe hesitated before taking a small sample of the ice cream. His eyes widened as he took more bites after realizing Ava was right. It was the best thing he had ever tasted.

"It's good isn't it?" Ava giggled as they started to head back to the house through the busy streets. 

They passed by many neighborhoods that were trying to recover from Thanos' attack. Homes being rebuilt, some people using tents, and even some people living on the street because they are looking for a new home. It was the worse part of coming back from the Blip. Ava hated seeing the destruction that happened because of the mad Titan. 

"What happened here?" Poe asked as he felt pity for these people. 

Ava wanted to tell him about the past five years and be honest with him. Yet she remembered she promised Gamora to wait till they knew for sure. Besides, he was already going through a lot. Explaining the situation with Thanos was a lot of information to process and even as a victim Ava still had trouble adjusting with that knowledge. She couldn't bring herself to share it all.

But Poe deserved to know at least some of it. 

Ava swallowed the chunk of Globizik before she spoke. "Thanos was a powerful Titan in this universe. One of the things he did was destroy planets and civilizations to keep things balanced." She paused as she looked at his reaction, to see if he was following. 

Poe's eyes had squinted as he processed her words. He seemed to understand what she was explaining. He tilted his head slightly in curiosity with a hint of familiarity. 

"5 years ago, he Xandar and my home planet Earth were affected by his power." Ava continued and thought of a way to tell him the truth with a white lie hidden within. "Luckily, a super group of heroes called the Avengers joined forces with the Guardians and stopped him from doing any more damage."

Poe stared at her with empathy after she finished her brief story. He seemed as if he didn't only understand the events that happened, but also the pain and grief.

He let out a long sigh before he responded. "I don't know this Thanos guy. But he sounds a lot like the bad guys my resistance defeated a while ago. The First Order is what we called them. They blew up planets and we lost good people during our battles."

Ava nodded to show she was listening. "We did too. I lost two great friends of mine." 

All she could think of was Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff. The way they fought to keep the world safe, regardless of what it would cost them. Because of them, she had the chance to be with her brother and find the Guardians.

A sudden peaceful silence of understanding fell between them as they both licked their ice cream. She didn't know what wars he faced, but it was no secret that he had been through a lot fighting for the resistance that he lead. They made it to the city square and it became late afternoon as they made their way to the house.

"You miss your home?" Poe asked as he took another bite and redirected the conversation away from his life. Ava glanced at him before returning her eyes to the ice cream in her hands.

"It was a culture shock coming to space. Nothing out here is like anything on earth." She began, remembering how she felt the first time she came to space with the Guardians. 

"Is that so?" Poe chuckled at her enthusiastic smile and how she lit up about the topic of space.

Ava breathed out a laugh. "You have no idea. The food, animals, technology, and basically everything is different here. It's like Wakanda on steroids!"

"Wakanda?"

She forgot that although Poe looked human, he wasn't from Earth. Meaning he knew absolutely nothing about it.

"It's a place on Earth. I'll tell you about it later." She assured, but couldn't wait to tell him about the African country that she grew to be obsessed with. She never got to meet T'Challa or his family, but it was on her bucket list to meet his sister.

Ava let out a sigh as she thought about his question. "Somedays, I do miss Earth, but it's also the place I lost my mother to... a medical condition." She decided to not mention the word cancer. That was something she wasn't ready to explain to Poe without tearing up. The evil virus was worse than Thanos wiping out fifty percent of the population or any Avenger-level threat. It couldn't be defeated like a villain and the universe is saved. She felt him staring at her and Ava hated making eye contact with people she barely knew. Especially when she became vulnerable with them. So she kept her eyes on her feet as they walked through the market to keep her loud mouth shut. 

"I'm sorry."

Her head shot up from the gentle voice to meet Poe's soft expression. No hint of sarcasm that he usually carried.

"I lost my mother too. She was a resistance pilot which is one of the reasons I became one. It reminds me of her." Poe mentioned before he looked off over at a ship taking off from the deck.

Ava peaked over her head at him as they both stopped walking. "You miss flying don't you?" She questioned.

Poe looked back at her with a nod. "Yeah. I would be the one in charge of blowing up the TIE fighter ships. Was also a commander of a squadron before I got to be General. Poe Dameron may have crashed into an asteroid field, but he never misses a shot."

There it was. The sarcasm was back and the conceited personality chiseled at Ava's nerves once again.

"They must be so lucky to have you as the General." She teased back with a chuckle.

Poe smirked in reply as he continued to walk with her through the streets. He picked up his pace until a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Ava forced his shoulders to be parallel with hers. Standing face to face.

"I can show you how Xandarian ships work sometime. Then when we finally find coordinates, you can take a spin in Rockets seat on the Benatar." She offered while it was her turn to send him a sly smirk with a wink.

Flustered, Poe hesitated before the corners of his mouth twitched with a puppy eye gaze focused on Ava. "Really!?" He gasped. 

Ava bit her lip as she nudged his arm while laughing at his childlike innocence. "Only if you promise not to get under my skin." She said as she walked forwards while finishing her Globizk treat. She felt herself being yanked back to be side by side with the pilot. His fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Sure, but I can't make promises, blondie." A grin played on Poe's lips, something that Ava despised. 

Ava pulled her hand out of his hold and the feelings from the night of the dinner had returned. 

They found a trash can when they finished their treats. A bashful expression appeared on Ava's face when Poe snatched her wrapper from her hands, throwing it away for her. He turned to look back at her while she let out a long sigh.

"How was the Frozen Fuji Banana?" She asked as they approached the house.

"Surprisingly, better than I expected." He said with a warm smile.

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They are finally breaking through a little bit! 

There are more cute moments to come don't worry!
And I just realized I forgot to write BB-8 in this chapter because he was with them the whole time. Poe would be so disappointed in me. I'll fix it when I edit this story when it's completed.

Please vote, comment, and share!

(also don't know why the gif is so small but I love that gif of oscar!)