Chapter 3: Star Lord & Gamora
On board the Milano, Gamora looked at the date on the Earth calendar the Avengers gave them. Her eyes kept focusing on a certain date. Today's date. Valentine's Day. She had learned that Valentine's Day was a day where couples celebrate. Since her time as a Guardian, she had been developing feelings for her friend and leader, Peter Quill aka Star Lord. And she knew he felt the same way about her. Trouble is, since she was an assassin raised and trained by the mad titan Thanos, she had no experience of dating. Under Thanos' command, she always sliced down every man that stood in her father's way. But she was prepared to put all that aside and try something new.
Gamora made her way to the cockpit. "Ah, glad you could finally join us, Greenie." Rocket Raccoon said. "Sorry. I was caught up with something." Gamora lied. Peter looked at the assassin in confusion, but shrugged it off. "What's our next stop?" Gamora asked. "Knowhere. Cosmo needs a favor." Peter said. "Did he say what it was?" Gamora asked. "No. The call was so sudden, he didn't have time to explain." Peter said. "Yeah. He just said 'Guardians! Need a favor from you! Come to Knowhere now!' So ominous!" Rocket said. Gamora hid a smile from her team, for she and Cosmo made this arrangement.
[Flashback]
Gamora called Cosmo on a secret transmission. "Cosmo, I have a favor to ask you. Have you heard of the Earth holiday, Valentine's Day?" Gamora asked. "Yes. Cosmo has heard of humans' coupling holiday." Cosmo said. "Well, I want to take Peter on a Valentine's date. So, I was wondering if you could make up a favor with the others so I can do so." Gamora said. "Of course. Cosmo help Gamora achieve love interest with pleasure." Cosmo said. "Good. Make the call to the Milano once this transmission is finished." Gamora said. "Of course. Gamora will have most romantic time of life. Cosmo out." Cosmo said, ending the transmission.
[Flashback End]
'This is it. This my chance to start my first relationship with the man I love.' Gamora thought. 'I just hope nothing can make this go wrong.'
Soon enough, the Guardians had arrived on Knowhere. As soon as they landed and exited the Milano, Cosmo walked up to greet them. "Guardians! Good to see you again." Cosmo said. "Cosmo. Good to see you too, boy." Peter said, scratching Cosmo's ears. "Oh yeah. That feel good." Cosmo said, loving the feeling of his ears being scratched. "Look at that. The head of security here on Knowhere and he likes being treated like a common Earth dog." Rocket joked. "I am Groot." Groot chuckled, fist-bumping his partner.
"So, what's the favor you called us for?" Peter asked. "Actually, it is favor Cosmo hope Drax, Rocket and Groot could help with." Cosmo said. That shocked the Guardians. Well, Gamora acted shocked. "Why just us?! Why not the whole group?!" Rocket asked. "Favor requires 3 Guardians. And Rocket, Groot and Drax are just right Guardians for job." Cosmo said. Rocket was about to talk, but then he thought about the pay they would receive for the job. "What's the pay?" He asked. "Oh, Guardians' account will be paid handsomely." Cosmo said. "Alright then. Let's get working then!" Rocket said, walking away. "I am Groot?" Groot asked as he and Drax followed. "Hey, the dog said we'll be well paid. That's good enough for me." Rocket said. "The raccoon does have a point. It's been some time since we last had a good paycheck." Drax said. "Thank you, Drax." Rocket said. "And before I forget. DON'T CALL ME A RACCOON!" Before Cosmo went to follow the 3, he gave Gamora a secret wink. Gamora winked back, being careful not to let Peter see it.
Peter looked at Gamora, seeing that they were the only 2 left. "So…what are we going to do?" He asked. "Um, how about we check out the sights?" Gamora suggested. "Gamora, we've been coming here for a long time. We know every sight like the jawbone of this head." Peter said. "But you know how Knowhere operates. They practically have new things every day. Worth at least one look." Gamora said. Peter looked at Gamora with suspicion. Gamora struggled to keep a straight face. "Yeah, okay. Let's take a look around." Peter said, dropping the subject and walking away. Gamora sighed in relief and joined him.
But little did they know, they were being spied on by 2 of their worst enemies. Titus, traitorous former member of the Nova Corp, and Terrax, general of Galactus. "We should strike those now." Titus said, eager to get some payback on the Guardians. "Yes. We'll catch them both off guard at the nightclub. Their little first date will be their last." Terrax said.
Meanwhile, Cosmo was getting Drax, Rocket and Groot to polish the display cases the Collector had left behind. "This was the favor you wanted?! Polishing the Collector's junk?!" Rocket asked in anger. "Hey, he wanted Cosmo to have collection to pay off old debt to Cosmo. How could Cosmo say no?" Cosmo asked. "Simple. Have a loud booming voice and just say it. NO!" Drax shouted. "I am Groot." Groot said. "What do you mean you like this line of work?!" Rocket asked in anger.
While the 3 Guardians were arguing, Cosmo took this time to check in on Peter and Gamora. As he entered the control room, he noticed the alert light blinking. "Cosmo wondering why alert light is blinking." He said to himself. He walked over and opened the security cameras. He saw Titus and Terrax following Peter and Gamora. "Oh, no you will not ruin Gamora's perfect date!" Cosmo got ready to arm the defenses.
At that very moment, Peter and Gamora looked around the sale stands, not noticing Titus and Terrax. "Are any of these stands even new? Like selling anything new to Knowhere? Or are my eyes just playing tricks on me?" Peter asked. "I don't know. I guess I barely know what they even sell here anymore." Gamora said. "Well, despite that, it was a good idea to look around, Gamora." Peter said. Gamora blushed from his compliment. She then noticed that her hand was slightly brushing against his. Seeing her chance, she moved to take his hand in hers.
"Gamora! Come in, Gamora!" Cosmo called on Gamora's comm. Gamora silently groaned from her moment being ruined. "What is it, Cosmo?" She asked in a whisper. "Trouble. You and Peter being followed." Cosmo said. Gamora slightly looked behind her, seeing Titus and Terrax in the crowds. "Think you can keep them off our backs?" She asked. "Of course. Cosmo has defense systems ready." Cosmo said. "Good. I don't want those 2 ruining this." Gamora said.
As Cosmo ended the communication, he focused his cameras on Titus and Terrax, ready to spring his defenses. "Titus and Terrax come to Knowhere to mess with Cosmo's friends, they get very nasty surprise." He said.
Later, Peter and Gamora sat down to dinner at the Cantina. As their food was ordered and brought to them, Peter noticed that Gamora was looking more nervous than when they arrived on Knowhere. "Alright, Gamora, what's all this about?" Peter asked. "What do you mean?" Gamora asked. "Cosmo's sudden call to come here, his asking for a favor, him wanting only Drax, Rocket and Groot, and you wanting to see the sights with me. I know I can be an idiot, but I'm not as stupid. You plotted this with Cosmo." Peter said. Gamora was surprised that Peter actually found her out. "Why'd you do all this?" Peter asked. "Well, Peter, this is all hard for me to explain." Gamora said. Peter put his hand on hers. "It's okay. You can tell me." He said. Gamora looked at their hands, then back up at Peter. She smiled as she moved her hand to intertwine their fingers.
But before she could start explaining, she noticed Titus taking aim at her and Peter with his arm blaster. "LOOK OUT!" She yelled, bringing Peter down to cover as Titus fired from his arm blaster, hitting the Cantina's bar. The 2 Guardians recovered from the blast. "Are you okay?" Gamora asked. "Yeah. Thanks." Peter said. Gamora smiled. Both Guardians realized how close their faces were. But before they could make a move, Titus and Terrax came in through the clearing smoke. "Don't even try getting up, Guardians." Titus said, aiming their blaster at the 2. "At long last, with the destruction of the Guardians of the Galaxy, my lord Galactus will finally be pleased with revenge." Terrax said, preparing his axe. "As will I." Titus said. Both prepared to finish Peter and Gamora, but suddenly, the 2 villains were encased in an energy field, causing their attacks to be blocked. Both Titus and Terrax were stunned by this. Peter and Gamora looked up, seeing 2 drones conjuring the energy field with a hologram of Cosmo's head in between the drones. "Cosmo hates when villains try to wreck good day for his friends." Cosmo said.
Afterwards, the Nova Corps arrived and arrested Titus and Terrax. "Thank you again for the call, Cosmo. We've been searching for these 2 for a while since they escaped." Nova Prime said through a hologram. "It was no trouble, Nova Prime." Cosmo said. As the Guardians were filling up on supplies, Peter noticed that Gamora wasn't with them.
Gamora stood in the bunker of the Milano. She was feeling sad that Titus and Terrax ruined her big date with Peter. "Gamora? Are you okay?" Peter asked as he found her. "No. I'm not okay. Everything today went all wrong." Gamora said, preparing to cry. "What're you talking about?" Peter asked. Gamora took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I knew today was Earth's Valentine's Day due to the calendar I got from the Avengers. So, Cosmo and I planned this favor so that we could have a date together." She started to explain. Peter was surprised to hear this. "Peter, I wanted this date to be perfect so I could tell you how I felt about you. But Titus and Terrax ruined it. I'm sorry." Gamora said. Peter walked over to Gamora and took her hands in his. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Gamora. It's actually very sweet that you went through so much trouble to do this." He said. "But Titus and Terrax-" Gamora tried to say. "So, they came in at a bad time. Big deal. I've had worser dates when I was with Supergiant. But it doesn't matter. Because being here with you makes me happier than I ever was." Peter assured.
Gamora smiled as Peter said that. She then moved her arms and wrapped them around Peter's neck. Peter than wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you, Gamora." Peter said. "I love you too, Peter. More than anything." Gamora said. They then leaned in and kissed, sealing their love. Drax, Rocket and Groot silently watched from afar. "Well, it's about time." Rocket said. Drax and Groot nodded as all 3 of them smiled.
Next Couple: Inferno & Ms. Marvel