Surrender by Cheap Tricks was playing throughout the comm system of the ship as they moved through space. It had been some time since Ego and everyone was adjusting to the new members of the guardians. Taylor and Peter were having a wonderful time reconnecting with each other. Taylor along with Mantis were also growing closer to the rest of guardians as well as they all spent more time together.

"Peter, you've been alive all this time? I thought you were dead! Tortured! Suffering! Instead I find out you've been prancing around space playing hero!" Taylor frowned as she stared out at the stars, Peter just having finished up telling her about his life in space. They had been catching up as they set in the helm of the ship, the first quiet moment that had had in a while.

"I have not been prancing." Peter rubbed is jaw.

"Really?! Then why didn't you come back?" Taylor asked bitterly.

"Because by the time I got my own ship it took me years to find you, it wasn't until I came here that I finally tracked you down." Peter said defensively. "I got scared that it was too late…that you had probably moved on and I didn't want to mess up anything that you might have had."

"Peter Jason Quill..." Taylor caused Peter to flinch at his full name. "You are my brother that I thought was dead, I would have been happy to have you back, I am happy to have you back." Taylor's eyes began to water. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you to." Peter smiled at her. "So what did you do on earth?"

"Stayed home till I turned eighteen then lit out and wondered the world for a time." Taylor answered as she leaned back in her chair. "When I was twenty one I ended up in Napal and met the Ancient One, she was the one who taught me to be a sorceress. From there on I met Cheshire of the howling commandoes, apparently she's immortal, and through her I met Captain America. Turns out he had been frozen this whole time. Then I became an Avenger, the world's mightiest hero's kind of thing."

"Wait, so you're friends with Captain America! The Captain America!" Peter looked at her wide eyed.

"Yep." Taylor nodded. "Do you remebeer the story grandma told us about meeting him?"

"Yeah, she really liked to brag about that." Peter nodded then looked hopeful. "Can I meet him?"

"He's kind of on the run now." Taylor admitted and explained what had occurred among the Avengers from Ultron up to their civil war. "Even I'm sort of on the run. I never signed the accords and I'm still a practicing hero so...yeah."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Peter frowned.

"You're just mad because I can't introduce you to Steve." Taylor teased.

"A little." Peter shrugged playfully.

"Who knows, maybe by the time I make it back around to earth they'll have patched things back up." Taylor sighed.

"You want to go back?" Peter frowned.

"Someday, you know, to say hi, introduce them to my baby brother." Taylor shrugged.

"By like three minutes." Peter whined.

"Still makes me the older sibling." Taylor teased.

"Whatever." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Fine, subject change." Taylor relented. "Tell me about Rhea."

"Aw geeze." Peter muttered, his ears pinking a bit, but none the less told Taylor all about Rhea as he set in some coordinates and tool off to the nearest jump point.

-0-

Kraglin had a version of Yondu's fin implanted into his head and looked nervously down at the arrow on the floor. He tried to whistle, but it just flipped around like a dead fish. He whistled again, and it flew up, hitting a wall, and fell back down again. He whistled again, and it zipped away around the corner and then there was a scream.

Kraglin looked around the corner where Drax was sitting with the arrow impaled into his chest, yelling in agony. Kraglin looked around, hoping no one saw him there, and he tried to slink away before hearing Drax thundering toward him prompting him to sprint away.

He turned a few corners until he ran head long into Taylor coming out of her room. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her up, her arms going around his neck struggling to keep her balance. His nose brushed against hers, both of them going red as they separated quickly.

"What's going on? Was that Drax?" Taylor asked.

"I may have accidently shot him with the Yaka arrow." Kraglin winced when he heard Drax's below of rage followed by his rapid foot falls in their direction. Taylor grabbed Kraglin pushing him into her room with a startled yelp from the Xandarian, closing the door just as Drax came around the corner.

"Where is he?" Drax demanded.

"Why are you bleeding?" Taylor avoided his question, looking at the arrow wound.

"I was shot by that Ravager fool." Drax held up the arrow, Taylor snatching it from him.

"Geeze Drax, you've had worst then this I'm sure. Go have Mantis fix you up and I'll track down Kraglin, talk to him about practicing in less public areas." Taylor assured him.

"When you find him tell him I will relieve him of his arms if he dares to show his face to me." Drax growled.

"Can't you just forgive and forget?" Taylor asked getting a look from Drax that clearly said he could not. "Ok, fine, what if I get you a knife of your choosing at our next stop will you let Kraglin keep his arms?" Drax looked to be thinking it over. "Please?"

"It is a deal, I will not harm your boyfriend in return for a new knife." Drax nodded.

"He's not my boyfriend Drax." Taylor's cheeks pinked.

"Then why do you both stare longingly at the other when the other is not looking?" Drax asked in confusion.

"We do not…just go get Mantis, you're making a bloody mess." Taylor ran a hand through her hair. The grey man shrugged and walked away.

Shaking her head she ducked back into her room spotting Kraglin holding up a nearly completed maroon knit scarf speckled with white and black. He startled, dropping the scarf and the ball of yarn attached to it which rolled under her bunk.

"Sorry! I just….it looked soft…and I…" Kraglin stuttered trying to get the ball of yarn by pulling on the string only unraveling the ball in the process. He dropped to his knees, Taylor's eyes glancing to where he had set his fin aside on her bedside table, and reached under her bed hitting his head on the frame in the process. "Ow!"

"It's fine Kraglin." Taylor said with a chuckle as he straightened back up yarn in hand and rubbing where his head had hit. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He grumbled, his cheeks turning blue as he handed her the ball of yarn and she gave him back the yaka arrow which he set down next to his fin. "Drax is pretty mad huh?"

"Yeah, but I promised him a new knife of his choice at our next stop to let it go and he agreed." Taylor rewound the yarn ball being careful not to unravel the scarf. "Though don't expect him to be the warmest toward you for a while. In fact you may want to lay low in here until he heads to bed."

"Thanks Taylor, for helping me." Kraglin ducked his head a bit.

"Not a problem." Taylor responded laying across her bed so her head was hanging off of the side and resumed her knitting. Kraglin set on the rug covered floor next to her glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, avoiding making eye contact whenever she glanced at him.

"What's that in the middle?" Kraglin asked.

"It's Celtic." Taylor replied running her fingers along the raised design in the middle. "It means protection."

"Oh…it's nice…." Kraglin mumbled.

"Thank you." Taylor said finishing it then sitting up on her bed letting her legs hang down next to Kraglin. She set aside her yarn and draped the scarf around him, Kraglin looking down at the gift with wide eyes. "It looks good on you."

"Thank you." Kraglin grinned as he ran his fingers over the soft yarn.

"Glad you like it." Taylor moved from her bed to sit down next to him, their shoulders brushing, taking out some more yarn.

"You knit a lot?" Kraglin commented.

"It's a hobby my mama taught me when I was younger." Taylor shrugged as she started to form the blue yarn into a pattern. "It helps me remember and feel closer to her."

"You're really good." Kraglin said softly, knowing how much both she and Peter loved and missed their mother.

"Thank you." Taylor smiled up at him and just like that Kraglin was trapped starring into her eyes, his lips parted as he tried to talk, to say something to keep their conversation going.

"You're beautiful!" Kraglin suddenly blurted out. Taylor's smile changed into one of shock, her eyes blinking owlishly at him. Kraglin blushed brightly and started to stutter out an explanation mixed with apologies.

"Thank you Kraglin…" Taylor said slowly. "I think you're very handsome."

"Ah, no I ain't." Kraglin ducked his head and scratching the back of his neck.

"Yes you are." Taylor took his hand making him jump, starring wide eyed at their joined hands. "It's your eyes I like the best though."

"My eyes?" Kraglin echoed and Taylor hummed her yes as she smiled softly at him.

"They're a beautiful shade of blue, like the sky back home." Taylor said with a smile causing Kraglin to smile back.

-0-

Quill was standing in the doorway of a very messy bedroom covered in roots and leaves. It looked like fall had come in like a monster filling the whole of the room. Peter took it all in looking down in disgust as the state of things.

"Dude, seriously, you got to clean up your room. It's a complete mess." Peter said in annoyance. A gawky adolescent Groot was hunched over, playing a video game, in this very messy room.

"I am Groot." Groot's voice was changing.

"I'm not boring, man. You're boring. Once I got stuck on a planet where everyone was just lines and dots. I had to use geometry to get out of prison. Is that boring?" Peter shot back, but adolescent Groot shook his head in disdain. "You know what's boring? Not doing the dishes. What's boring is me tripping over your vines everywhere." Adolescent Groot sighed dramatically. "Drax and I switched pants in the middle of that party last weekend. For no reason other than we're awesome and very much not boring." Quill stated to walk away then came back. "Once I got a venereal disease that made me float for three days... Don't tell Rhea... it's dormant, but... If that's boring then, I guess I'm boring." He looked at him. "I'm not boring." Groot rolled his eyes and made an exasperated sound. "What's boring is when you roll your eyes like that at me and make an exasperated sound like I'm an old, boring, stupid idiot." Quill thought back. "Now I know how Yondu felt." Peter shook his head. "Where did you even get that game?"

"I am Groot." Groot answered.

"Aunt Taylor? Of course, she's been spoiling you rotten." Peter groused.

"I am Groot." Groot said.

"She's cool?! She's cool, but I'm not?!" Peter was borderline whining. "If I told you half the uncool things she did when we were kids…"

"Everything ok in here?" Rhea poked her head into the door taking in the room. "What tornado came through here?"

"Groot won't clean up after himself." Peter gestured to Groot.

"I am Groot." Groot said and Peter's face went red.

"Dude! I said not to tell her about that." Peter snapped turning to Rhea. "It is totally dormant now, no longer a problem."

"I'm not susceptible to it anyway." Rhea winked at him then turned to Groot hands on hips. "Groot, Peter's right, this room is a wreck. You better put that game down and start cleaning."

"I am Groot." Groot replied.

"Excuse me?" Rhea asked in a low voice that even had Peter taking a step back. Groot peaked around sheepishly feeling that he had definitely overstepped a boundary. Rhea snapped her fingers and the game appeared in her hand.

"I am Groot." Groot shot up from his bed.

"I know it's yours and you can have it back in a week as long as your chores are done, your room is cleaned, and you apologize to Peter. If by the end of the week you haven't done all of this I'm giving it to Rocket to change into a bomb." Rhea said sternly and Groot hung his head in defeat.

"I am Groot." He mumbled.

"Well I accept." Peter said and Groot set about cleaning his room as Rhea stepped out with Peter. "You'd make a fantastic mom."

"Is that an offer Star Lord?" Rhea teased and Peter's face erupted as he stuttered incoherently. Rhea laughed placing a kiss on his cheek. "Don't have a heart attack Peter, I was only teasing."

"I knew that." Peter defended himself.

"Ah huh." Rhea smirked. "I'll see you later. Gamora, Taylor, Mantis, and I are having a girl's night."

"Room for one more?" Peter joked placing his hands on her hips.

"You do have a knack for braids." Rhea placed her hands around his shoulders, fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck, both of them leaning in for a kiss, but Taylor's door opening allowing Kraglin out stopped them short. Kraglin glanced around cautiously before his eyes landed on Peter and Rhea.

"Is the coast clear?" He asked as Peter gaped at him.

"Dude, what are you doing in my sisters room?!" Peter demanded.

"He was hiding from Drax." Taylor replied stepping out next to Kraglin.

"Long enough for you to knit him a scarf?!" Peter pointed to the article of clothing hanging around Kraglin's neck.

"I've been working on that for him for a while now." Taylor waved him off.

"A while?!" Peter's eyes shot between them. "No, no, nope…not my sister!"

"What are you talking about Pete?" Taylor's face flushed.

"That right there, that's what I'm talking about. With the blushing and cure little gifts…" Peter listed off. "I know when you have a crush, just like in grade school when you had a crush on Jeremy Brown and you kept giving him stuff you'd make."

"Oh my gosh, Peter!" Taylor's face really erupted while Kraglin just grinned.

"You wipe that grin off your face before I…." Peter was cut off by Rhea dragging him back through the halls. "Hey, hey, I'm not done yet…"

"Yes you are lover boy, let your sister and Kraglin be." Rhea told him.

"But it's weird and not right and…that is my sister for crying out loud." Peter whined as she yanked him into her room.

"And Kraglin is a good guy, he won't hurt her." Rhea rolled her eyes.

"I know." Peter pouted. "Still messed up though, he's like ten years older than her."

"And I'm almost twenty years older than you." Rhea pointed out causing Peter to pause.

"I never thought about that." Peter admitted then ginned a bit as he took hold of her hips bringing her closer to him. "Lucky for you I have a thing for older women."

"Lucky for you I put up with your youthful follies." Rhea ran her hands up his chest resting on his shoulders.

"Still not sure about Taylor and Kraglin though." Peter grumbled. Rhea just rolled her eyes pulling his down into a deep kiss making him forget what he was talking about before.