AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had fun picking which artists/songs/albums the Guardians of the Galaxy would listen to in this chapter! In a sense, the bands and songs mentioned here (and in the previous chapter; Warren Zevon) would be on my own personal "Awesome Mix" :)

Peter and Rocket where sitting up at the kitchen table in the galley mulling over coffee. It was late, really late. Everyone had gone to bed except the two of them. The man and raccoon had been discussing the current state of the hyperdrive core. Now that Rocket had all the replacement parts to properly repair the malfunctioning core, it was safe to say that it would be fixed in no time, right?

"But I thought progress was going well." said Peter.

"I thought so too. But I hit a bit of a snag. I keep getting error messages every time I run a diagnostics check. So I tweak something here, tighten something there; error message pops up." Rocket explained. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, hoping to keep the need for sleep at bay. "We may have hit a bump in the road, but I'll figure it out in no time."

"I know you will." Peter knew that no matter the challenge at hand, the raccoon's spunky determination always overcame it. The thief noticed the animal's tired expression and urged him to hit the hay.

"Hey buddy, get some sleep, will ya? You're in no condition to work on that hyperdrive now."

"You're right, Quill." Rocket yawned. "And then it's back to square one tomorrow. See ya in the morning."

Rocket then went to his bunk, leaving Peter by himself. He put the dirty coffee cups in the sink and retired for the night himself.

The next morning, Peter was busy installing the double cassette tape deck he purchased. While he worked, he kept an eye on the seven year old Gamora. The girl had been obsessively watching the video tapes on the VCR Peter also bought the day he scored the tape deck. Luckily for him, the merchant from whom originally had the vintage machine had copies of various cartoons and other all-ages movies on the video cassettes. Gamora's favorite by far was the Jem and the Holograms tape. She had developed Peter's love of any form of music and the Terran would often catch the little girl singing and dancing along to the cartoon.

Peter thought about what the elder Gamora had said when he and she talked about dancing.

"I'm a warrior, an assassin. I don't dance." The woman stated.

"But dancing is the most wonderful thing in the world." Peter had said, to which Gamora scoffed.

The irony of seeing his now juvenile team-mate having a blast dancing to the cheesy 1980s music amused Peter to no end. When she finished watching Jem, the girl went over to the adult who was busy hooking up the wires into the Milano's sound system.

"Peter, the video tape is done." Gamora told him and then noticed that the double tape deck was almost done being installed. "Is that cassette player ready now?"

"In a minute it will be, Gamora. Say, how about you go and pick out one of the new tapes we bought to play in our new, and vastly improved, music player."

"OK!"

She rushed over to where the briefcase of cassette tapes were stored and pulled it out. After opening the case, the child pondered over which tape to pick. Gamora would pull out a cassette case, look at the title and album artwork and then put it back when she didn't like it.

Peter had finished installing the tape deck when Gamora held up her choice.

"This one, Peter. I like the strange flying horse on the cover." The cassette the youngster picked was Book of Dreams by The Steve Miller Band.

"Excellent choice." Peter said and placed the tape into the player and hit the play button.

The sounds of guitar licks and solos filled the air as the song "Jet Airliner" began to play. Peter began to nod his head to the beat, followed by clapping and singing along to the song. Soon Gamora began to sing along Peter and the two soon were swept up in the chorus about flying in an airplane all over the world.

The man and child where so engrossed in their impromptu sing-along that they didn't notice Drax, Rocket and Groot staring at them as they belted out the classic rock song. Peter noticed this team mates watching him and Gamora. He stopped singing, as did the girl.

"Oh, uh, didn't notice you the three of you there…" he said after being caught off-guard and turned down the volume.

"Nice to see that your new toy works." taunted Rocket. "And I must say that you have a lovely singing voice." Peter just gave a smirk at the raccoon.

"I did enjoy this song about being on a large plane. Did you choose this music, Peter?" said Drax.

"I did. Mr. Drax." Gamora told the brute raising her hand.

"I can see that Peter has passed his love of music onto you, little one. A fine choice you have made!"

An idea came to the little girl and she announced what it was to the four men. "I say that we all pick a tape and take turns playing them. That way, we can find out what everyone likes."

"Splendid! I am curious what other Terran music your world has to offer." Drax said to Peter, who liked the idea too.

"I'm in. How about you Groot?" Rocket asked the tree.

"I am Groot."

For the next few weeks, the heroes picked an album to listen in its entirety. The collection of cassettes was certainly an eclectic mix and it was made clear with each of the guardians' choices.

Rocket had chosen 10cc's self-titled debut album, mostly due to being somewhat familiar with the group thanks to Peter. The raccoon was the least likely to admit he liked any type of music, but secretly enjoyed the song "Rubber Bullets". At first, no one knew about his guilty pleasure. Peter had accidentally discovered Rocket's love for the tongue in cheek song one day when he was minding his own business.

The thief had been busy preparing Gamora's lunch and needed to run into the storage room to get a new jar of peanut butter. As Peter passed the open door to Rocket's workspace, the man saw the critter bopping along to the song he was singing.

"Load up/Load up/Load up/With rubber bullets." Rocket happily sang as he was actually reloading a gun he'd been repairing.

It was an odd sight, seeing the normally pissy space raccoon gleefully enjoying 1970s pop-rock music. Peter watched Rocket for a bit before clearing his throat, alerting his friend.

"Oh, Peter! I, uh—cough—didn't notice you there." The former bounty hunter said, startled.

"So the grumpy raccoon does like my music." Peter grinned devilishly. He had backed him in a corner with no escape!

Rocket sheepishly admitted the truth. "Some of it is actually pretty good. Like that 'Rubber Bullets' song; give me an idea on developing a new type of ammo."

"Interesting…Just don't use my elemental gun during beta testing and we're good." Peter said.

Poor Drax had terrible luck when it came to choosing albums from the tape briefcase. The brute had first chosen the Bee Gees, only to be met with the brothers' high-pitched vocals to the disco beats. Drax struck out again when he played The B-52s. At first, he liked the harmonies of the new-wave group's two female singers.

"They have the most heavenly voices I have ever heard!" he gushed.

Then "Rock Lobster" came on and crushed Drax's love for the group. The song's chorus of odd noises and screeches made everyone on the Milano cover their ears! It was safe to say that Drax wasn't allowed to pick any music for a while.

Thankfully, it was Groot that saved the day! After the debacle of Drax and The B-52s, the tree man picked something a little closer to what Peter had introduced the aliens to. As the album Rumours by Fleetwood Mac played from the cassette player, the songs smoothly transitioned from one another in perfect coherence.

Groot smiled and started to dance when "Don't Stop" came on. As the 1977 tune swelled to the catchy chorus, Peter got the group to sing along with him as he played air guitar along with the music. Gamora grabbed a stunned Rocket by his paws and twirled him around with her as Drax nodded his head and tapped his foot along to the beat.

In that moment, the little girl had forgotten all of her troubles. Gone was the loneliness of missing her adoptive family. Gone was the sadness from being in both physical and mental pain from Thanos' harsh training and tests. Those negative thoughts were replaced by the positive outlook of the song as Peter, Drax, Rocket and Groot sang and danced along with Gamora. The child didn't want this feeling of being loved and accepted to never end!

It was very late and Peter was having a bought of insomnia. The ship was eerily quiet at this time of night. He sat at the pilot's chair, gazing out at the vast void of space. The thief did admit that there was a certain beauty to it. Peter saw that the blackened sky was dotted with billions of stars with clouds of gas in bright hues splashed in various patterns. The clusters of rocks and debris added the last touch to the scenery that lay before his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, relaxing and felt at peace.

The Walkman in Peter's lap was playing Tears for Fears. He wasn't sure if he was going to enjoy the group; Peter already had a bad experience with 1980s new wave no thanks to Drax. But he was pleasantly surprised by the English band. There was a certain calmness that the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" had, despite it was a rather grim song lyrically. He couldn't help but think of the group's fight with the late Ronan as he listened to the tune; how ironic.

In the reflection from the panels above the steering wheel, Peter caught a glimpse of Gamora quietly entering the room. Pushing the stop button on the Walkman, he removed his headphones and turned to the little girl. Her hair was messy and her tank top pajama set was wrinkled from tossing and turning in bed.

"Hey you. Can't sleep, Gamora?"

"Yeah. Can I stay up with you for a while, Peter?"

The Terran motioned Gamora to sit in his lap. She promptly did. The two stared out at the stars, appreciating the beauty before them.

"There are so many stars. I wonder if I'll be able to travel all over the galaxy like you and the rest of the Guardians and visit them all." The girl said.

"You will, I know it." Peter replied.

The child leaned against him and saw the Walkman in his hand. "Can I try on your portable cassette player? I see you wear it all the time."

Peter nodded and gently placed the orange headphones on the little girl's head. After rewinding the tape back a bit, he hit play and let Gamora listen. From the muffled feedback from the headphones, the song Peter was listening to before had started up again. Gamora was at first confused by the song, but as the tune continued, the seven year old relaxed and cuddled against Peter's chest. She was starting to grow sleepy as her eyes started to droop from exhaustion.

In four minutes, the song ended and the child hit the stop button on the Walkman. Peter removed the headphones and looked down at her.

"Did you like the song?"

"It was nice." She told him in a dreamy voice. "It was fun listening to your Walkman. Thank you."

"No problem. You can listen to it any time you like; just ask."

Gamora smiled. "Tell me a story. You always tell the best stories, Peter."

Along with the gift of introducing her to great music, the former adult loved it when Peter told Gamora bedtime stories. The hero enjoyed retelling the films of his childhood to the little girl.

"Which one would you like to hear? How about the legend of Kevin Bacon?" the man asked.

"No." Gamora said.

"The tale of The Goonies?"

"I heard that one last night."

"What about the one with the three boys who built a spaceship and explored the galaxy?"

"Nah."

Peter was trying to recall any other movies, but he was at a loss. An idea came to him.

"Then I bet you never heard the story of the Lord and the Warrior Princess."

Gamora shook her head no. "I want to hear that one!" She settled against Peter once more as the former thief began to tell the girl his on-the-fly story.

"Once upon a time, there was this princess who was a great warrior. She had been trained all of her life by her father the king to be feared by all. For as long as she could remember, the princess had fought against so many that she had developed a reputation just as terrible as her father. One day, the Warrior Princess met a lord who did not fear her. He was just as skilled as she and the princess did not like that very much."

"So the Lord and her battled for many days and nights, trying to outdo each other. The Lord soon discovered that the princess had a terrible secret: she had been cursed to not to fall in love. If she fell in love, the princess would lose her powers and turn to dust."

"And was there a way to remove the curse?" Gamora asked Peter.

"Of course! This is a fairy tale after all. Anyway, the only way for the curse to be removed was for the Warrior Princess to dance with her true love. But when you are feared by all, no one, not even a commoner or fellow royal would dare tell the princess his feelings for her. The Lord knew this, but chose to ignore the warnings. For you see, he had fallen in love with the princess."

"Did the princess know about the Lord's feelings for her?"

"Indeed! She would tell him awful things as they battled each other. But the princess soon realized that she was falling in love with the Lord. The curse was on her and she was given a week to reverse it or be turned to dust! The Lord offered an invitation to a ball that was being held in his honor. If the Lord and the Warrior Princess danced with one another before the end of the week, then the princess was saved and allowed to marry her true love."

Peter heard the sound of heavy breathing and looked down at his lap. Gamora was sound asleep, snuggling against him. He smiled and gently picked her up. He carried the sleeping child to her room and tucked her into bed. Peter turned to leave when he heard the little girl stir slightly. With a sleepy glare, Gamora spoke.

"Did the princess and the Lord live happily ever after?"

"You know, I'm not sure." the hero said quietly. "What do you think?"

"They did." The girl said in a sleepy voice and dozed off once more.

If only that was true. Peter thought sadly to himself. While the tale he had told the child was make –believe, the man knew there was some truth behind the story. He was the Lord in the tale that fell in love with the Warrior Princess…the elder Gamora. But whether or not the woman knew of his feelings for her had yet to be seen…or even if she loved Peter like he loved her.