-☆-

"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!" Ava scolded herself as she brought in the boot Poe wore when she first met him. Along with his orange jumpsuit. Even BB-8 came with her, incase she could find any traces of droids.

BB-8 piped a few little beeps of excitement.

"I hope so too buddy!" She said overjoyed, setting everything on the translucent lab desk. "I have a good feeling about this."

Poe, Peter, Gamora and Nebula finally caught up to her and stood in the doorways as Ava scrambled around the office. Not to mention she dragged Rocket along in case she needed his technological knowledge.

"You just don't stop, do you blondie?" Poe scoffed, folding his arms, watching her zip around the laboratory grabbing equipment and bottles of solutions that were beyond his comprehension.

Her chaotic organization caused a softness in his chest. The effect like he was leaving base in a launch. Weightless and floating, never wanting gravity to bring him down. The sound of her rambling fueling his with pride. Except it wasn't the pride in taking dwn a dreadknot or defeating the First Order in Exegol as one of his first missions as General. This was a different kind of pride, making him want to kiss her again like the last time.

"I could have gotten so many more answers sooner!" Ava snorted a laugh of disbelief, a hand running through her hair as she continued to self-talk. She pulled over her a cream colored covering and goggles that she set to protect her eyes, then adding gloves that matched the shade of the Nova Corp uniforms.

Poe squinted with the lift of hs chin and an amused smirk stretching on his face. "What do you mean? You going to disintegrate my stuff?"

"Nope." Ava said without loosing her focus as she sat on the stool. "Although I am capable of doing that."

"I don't doubt that." Poe shrugged with the click of his tongue and shake of his head.

Then Ava turned her head over her shoulder with a grin. "But I'll make sure to keep your things intact." She assured with a tease.

Those eyes glowing like kyber crystals shining through the dark abyss of a cave. The material pouring light to result in the most fierce Jedi weapon. However, the resemblance of those optic lenses hadnothing to do with their creation of a lightsaber in this moment. Poe knew they were far more mesmerizing than the legendary stone.

"I can't promise anything." Rocket snickered, ruining the moment as Poe snapped his head down at the raccoon standing on the floor.

"Rocket," Gamora scolded with a hand pinching her nose.

"What?" He scoffed. "It's not like this hotshot is going to need them since it's all junk."

BB-8 alarmed with rage and charged at the animal who hopped up on one of the lab desks just in time before the droid knocked him over.

"Whoa, whoa!" He snarled at the droid with his hands guarding him in defense. "I didn't mean you!"

Nebula huffed with a twitch of a smirk on her lips. "Careful Rocket, J-u-n-k can be a trigger word for machines." She said, having a soft spot for the droid since he returned. BB-8 cooed a pattern of beeps in agreement.

"Can't blame him when he was a moving beacon of information that the entire galaxy wanted their hands n him." Poe stated with a scrunch of his nose, remembering that dreadful long distance he spent away from BB-8.

"Try being the daughter of a mad Titan who tore you're body apart to look like a robot for the rest of your life." Nebula added. "Not to mention, that father used you're memory circuit to find the solution to his mission to-"

"Shh!" Ava yelled, interrupting the sentence Nebula was about to finish. "A girl is trying to work here!"
Nebula, Rocket and Poe immediately silenced from their conversation.

"To answer your question Poe," Gamora said with a long sigh and placing her hands on her hips. "She's taking samples from your stuff to see if she can trace back the DNA or original material."

Poe's eyes widened. "Wait really!?"

Ava nodded. "Yeah, except I was slow to thinking about it."

"Hey, I'm not worried about that blondie." He said in defense holding up one of his hands. "I just never knew that was possible. It's pretty cool." Poe smiled when seeing her cheeks blush again, feeding that pride.

The clear of a throat almost made Poe jump out of his skin, only to see Ava's brother staring him down. It remained unreadable since he walked in on their slow dancing, but the half-celestial's eyes were intimidating enough to know it wasn't a good sign. Did he somehow know he kissed his sister? Or was it just typical protective brotherly instincts?

Starlord's death glare didn't bother Poe as much as the new possibility from Ava's discovery. He didn't shout for joy like he should have. Thoughts crowed his mind on what this meant. A few weeks ago, he'd be storming off and hop into a ship in a heart beat.

"Poe,"

He glanced in the direction of his name being addressed so calmly off of Ava's tongue.

"Don't you know this can be your ticket to finally return to your base?" Ava questioned.

Poe rose his eyebrows with a quick nod. "Yeah! I'm just-" He almost said it. But caught himself. Not wanting to Peter to hear him say it. "I'm just hoping it works!" Poe piped with a giant smile he forced onto his smug face.

He should have been thrilled, but now he wasn't so sure.

-|-

It worked.

After several tests and assistance from extra hands, including Rockets handy paws, it worked.

Ava stood there, her lips parting slightly. After all this time, the answer was right in the back of her mind. She was about to shout for joy in her success and to celebrate with her Guardians family, but something pulled her ack. A part of her didn't want this to be a reality.

It meant Poe would have to leave.

The thought scared her to where her heart was like a glass vase on the edge of a table. Any movement would cause it to fall and shatter into pieces.

But she knew she couldn't be selfish and hide this from him. Sure he became a good team member to the Guardians, but what about his friends and family? Ava couldn't take that chance to see them again.

Staring at the results of the data that read; Yavin 4.

"Well you did it, kid." Rocket stated.

Ava smiled at the statement, not phased by a raccoon calling her that nickname. "You know I'm only a few years younger than Peter right?

Rocket shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm older than both of you."

The rest of the Guardians, Poe and BB-8 went back to the house. They all were checking the Benatar for repairs and making sure it was good on fuel. Rocket stayed to help fix any bugs in the system since Ava was still getting used to some of the tech. She always found him great company, even if he werean animal that could talk.

"Thanks for the help Rocket." She said through a chuckle.

The raccoon crossed his small humanoid arms with the tilt of his head and squint of his dark eyes. "Aren't you ready to get this guy home?"

"Yeah," Ava said giving Rocket a subtle nod. "He can finally go back to his home."

"You're terrible at lying Ava," He noted. "Worse than Pete. Both when he's sober and wasted combined."

Her eyes closed with a long deep breathe. "I don't know Rcket, I think I've got so used to having him that I don't want to take him back."

Rocket snickered. "To the point you to sneak off in the middle of the night."

She snapped her head in his direction, blinking once with a hinge of panic. "You-"

"Of course I knew about your late night together!" He said with small cackle in his snout. "Well not everything in detail, but I noticed both of you leave when I got up to use the bathroom and I was also working on a few fixes on gadgets then too."

Ava forgotten that Rocket hardly slept at night. He'd find a project or two to keep himself awake, which would then explain his late mornings. And she felt more dumb in forgetting he was a raccoon. The ones she knew on earth were nocturnal.

"I also helped Poe steal Pete's music too." Rocket added with a sly grin. "So I knew something ws up when he asked for my assistance."

A smile spread on her lips. "You didn't tell him about us did you?"

"Nah," Rocket swiped the air with his paw. "Big bro doesn't know. Though I think he could be suspicious if you aren't careful."

Tilting her head with the raise of the eyebrows. "You're not wrong there."

Her small friend wore a smile. "What are you going to do about the General?" He asked.

Ava sighed. "I wish I could answer that. I've never loved anyone like this before. Well aside from random crushes in school and on Steve Roger's and his friend."

Rocket snickered. "I still want to get his arm."

She shot him a glared for interrupting and he cleared his throat for her to continue.

"But with Poe?" Ava spoken with sincerity. Reflecting on her relationship with him and how it's effected her. "I know it's only been a short while, but when I'm around him I feel-"

"Safe?" Rocket filled in the sentnce for her. The word that wasn't foreign to the experimental woodland creature.

Ava glanced over at Rocket who stared at her with empathy as he saton a tool box on the desk. "Yeah," She said. "That's one way to put it."

Rocket then place his small paw on her knuckle gently. "Those are the people you never let get away. Don't be an idiot like me and push friends away when scared of loosing them.

No verbal response was given as Ava pulled Rocket into as hug. He didn't like physical touch too much, but she knew he didn't mind hugs from her.

She knew the sensitive topic of his past. The sickening torture of space scientist trying to make everything perfect. If only she could confront the erson responsible for Rockets trauma she would give no mercy.

"You'll figure it all out kid." Rocket said as she felt his paw rubbing on her back with reassurance.

Ava returned the gesture. She knew when Rocket showed that he cared it was genuine when he wasn't cracking jokes left and right. He was unhinged but it didn't hide that rare side of his loyalty.

"Thanks Rocket."

Rocket pulled away. "Yeah, yeah." He returned to his usual attitude. "Let's get this all finished up."

The two did the last couple of tests to make sure they could get the right coordinates.

And despite what didn't make sense, to love someone where distance seemed like it would interfere, Ava didn't care.

She wasn't going to let someone like Poe go that easily.

Except only one thing haunted her. More than the possibility of loosing him. A factor that she hadn't thought of since they first met and could effect his homecoming. A drastic change that took herself almost a year now to recover and she wasn't sure how Poe would handle it.

The Blip.

_______________________________________

A quickie! But I really wanted to get a little bit of Rocket in here. And we'll see what happens with the Blip!

Hope you all are doing well!
Keep being awesome!

More Poe and Ava coming soon I promise!

-marie xoxo