"Darth Vader is Luke's father?! Are you shitting me right now?" Peter exclaimed, his voice filled with incredulity, his eyes wide with shock. His grandfather had just settled in with another batch of popcorn for them both, ready to enjoy their movie night.

His grandpa shot him an amused warning look as he handed Peter his bowl of popcorn, eyebrows raised in mock surprise.

"Kidding. I meant kidding. Sorry, grandpa," Peter stammered quickly, realizing his outburst had been a bit too much.

His grandfather chuckled, shaking his head, as he sank into his comfortable armchair. Meanwhile, on the screen, Darth Vader was making his proposition to his son to rule the galaxy together.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Once. Then again. And again. It rang unceasingly, each chime more persistent than the last.

Peter exchanged a bewildered glance with his grandpa, both of them wondering who could be interrupting their movie night in such a persistent manner.

"You stay here, you just sat down. I'm going to see who this lunatic is," Peter said, determination in his voice as he set his popcorn aside and headed toward the door.

"Alright, I'll put it on pause for you," said the older man, grabbing the remote and preparing to hit the pause button.

In annoyance from the endless ringing playing in his ears, Star-Lord opened the front door roughly and was immediately greeted with the sight of a beautiful red-headed woman who jumped in shock at the door suddenly being opened. She quickly pulled her finger away from the doorbell, her eyes wide with surprise.

Peter lost his breath at the sight of her, captivated by her beauty. "Yowza," came out of his mouth without thought as he was enchanted by her presence.

"So that's what that thing does," said the woman, looking at the doorbell with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

Peter's brows came together slowly as he processed the voice. He knew that voice!

"Nebula?!" he exclaimed incredulously, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Oh. You can recognize me then?" Nebula asked, awkwardly adjusting her clothes and long red hair. "I was told this device I got on my wrist here would be able to transform my appearance to how I'd naturally look as an intelligent species on any planet's habitat. So I set mine to Earth."

Nebula extended her arms out, displaying herself, and then let them fall loudly to her sides. Peter's eyes scanned her from head to toe as if she was a goddess, but she took it the wrong way.

"I knew it. I'm hideous!" she said, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Hid-what? No! You're not—I mean, come on—look at you. You look..." He couldn't think of a word that could rightly express how amazing she looked right now. Peter's eyes softened, and he took a step closer.

Not that he didn't think she looked great in her natural form too. Recently, he had been having dreams of those coal-black eyes of hers staring at him lovingly in his sleep.

Nebula tilted her head, waiting for an answer, her vulnerability adding an unexpected layer to her usually stern demeanor.

"Look?..." she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.

"Beautiful!" flew out of Peter's mouth before he could stop himself, his eyes widening in realization at his unfiltered response.

Their eyes both awkwardly opened in shock at his admission, and Peter immediately hid his face behind the door, berating himself internally.

"Think before you speak, man!" he hissed quietly to himself, mortified by his lack of control.

Meanwhile, Nebula quickly ran her hands through her hair, trying to stop the blushing she could feel burning her cheeks. The woman, known for her stoic demeanor, was visibly flustered.

"Just pretend you didn't just say that," Peter told himself quietly, mentally kicking himself. He took a deep breath before peeking out from behind the door, attempting to salvage the situation.

"Hey, so what are you doing here?" Peter asked, facing her once again, putting on a happy face to hide his mortification.

Nebula froze in shock.

"Oh...uh...uh... Well, it's been a few months now since we last saw each other. I wanted to see how you're doing. I mean, we are family and all," she said gruffly, crossing her arms and looking at the ground, her vulnerability surfacing again.

Quill smiled sincerely, feeling his heart melt at her words. He walked over to her, then suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"W-what? Hey, what are you doing?!" Nebula asked, flustered, her voice slightly muffled against his chest.

"I missed you too, Nebs," he said, smiling, his cheek resting on the top of her red hair.

Nebula felt her face burn red, her heart racing. She wanted nothing more than to return his hug and sink into the feeling of his warmth, but she feared allowing herself to think Peter could ever seriously feel such a way about her. She was also afraid of letting her heart give in to the love she had for him.

"Cut it out! I said nothing about missing you!" Nebula barked, pushing Peter back, attempting to regain her composure.

Peter chuckled, a mix of amusement and affection in his eyes.

"You didn't have to. It's obvious," he smirked, his eyes filled with genuine warmth.

Nebula rolled her eyes.

"Yeah? Well, keep telling yourself whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Red hair definitely fits your fiery personality," Quill muttered under his breath with a smirk, admiring her spirit even more.

"What was that?" Nebula snapped, not hearing what he had said clearly.

Peter quickly raised his hands, trying to defuse any tension.

"Nothing! Relax. Look, me and my gramps were in the middle of watching a movie. It's like this play thing. Would you want to join us? We can catch up after?"

Nebula's brows shot up at the unexpected offer. It had been an unbelievable amount of time for her since she had watched a play. And to be invited to watch one with Quill and his grandfather... Well, it just made Nebula feel warm and fuzzy, sparking feelings she wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"Your offer sounds...what's the word I always hear you say?...Cool," she replied, trying to play it nonchalantly, although her eyes betrayed a hint of excitement and gratitude.

"Awesome!"

Quill grinned, his eyes glinting with curiosity.

"What about your ship? Where is it?" he asked, scanning the area for any signs of her vessel.

Meanwhile, Nebula rudely walked her way past Peter, stating that she had it "someplace well hidden," her tone sharp and dismissive, as she made her way into the house.

Peter quickly shut the door and locked it, then hurriedly followed her as she made her way to the living room.

Quill's grandpa immediately raised a brow at the sight of the woman, his wise eyes observing the situation keenly. Peter, feeling the weight of the unspoken question in his grandfather's gaze, awkwardly scratched the back of his head, trying to find the right words to explain Nebula's sudden appearance

"Hey, Grandpa, this is Nebula I've told you about. She's going to be watching the rest of Empire Strikes Back with us if you don't mind..." Peter said, introducing Nebula to his grandfather, his voice slightly nervous yet filled with warmth.

The older man choked on some popcorn for a moment before standing up, clearly surprised by Nebula's presence.

"Actually, I think I'll just let you two enjoy the film together. I remembered I have some tinkering I really need to do with the car," he said while smiling, handing Nebula his bowl of popcorn, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"You sure, Gramps?" Peter questioned curiously, trying to decipher the unspoken message in his grandfather's actions. "I mean, you can always wait until the movie is over."

"Oh, yes. I'm sure. It's something that I need to get done right away," the old man said adamantly, his hand firm and pleased on Peter's shoulder as he gave him a wink.

Peter blushed, realizing that his grandfather was giving them some private time together.

"Nice to meet you," the elderly man said, waving goodbye to Nebula as he made his way to the garage.

Left alone in the living room, Peter and Nebula exchanged glances, a mixture of surprise and anticipation in their eyes before they settled into watching the movie together.

.

.

.

Quill and Nebula were sitting on the couch together, and Peter had just finished giving her a brief overview of everything she needed to know about Star Wars before he pressed play.

"So this Luke Skywalker warrior has an evil galactic father... I think I relate to this tragic soul," Nebula thought aloud, her eyes fixed on the screen as Luke purposely fell down to what seemed to be his death.

Peter's eyes widened as he realized the parallels between Nebula and Luke. Awkwardly, he sank into his seat, his mind racing for something to say to distract her from the painful thoughts.

"Uh, hey, you want a pop?" he blurted out, trying to change the subject.

"...A what?"

"A pop. You know?" he offered awkwardly, waving his hand vaguely.

Nebula tilted her head, her expression one of utter confusion.

"Are you offering me to hear a noise sensation?" she asked, her tone deadpan, clearly not understanding what he meant.

"A noise sen-? No, I mean a drink. Here, I'll go get you one. You've never had one before, right?" Peter got up from the chair, his eyes studying her intently. "Mountain Dew. You seem like a Mountain Dew sort of person. Wait here."

Nebula's red brows furrowed in confusion.

Peter returned with a green can of soda in his hand and held it out to her.

Nebula looked at it, then back at Peter. "So, this is a drink made from the dew of the mountains?" she asked, her voice deadpan, genuinely puzzled.

Peter's eyes went wide at the question before he burst into laughter.

Nebula growled in annoyance, stopping his laughter abruptly.

Peter cleared his throat, becoming more serious, and offered her a gentle smile.

"No, it's just called that because... you know what? I don't know why the hell it's called that, but it's not dew water. It's like a liquid candy drink."

Peter then opened the can of Mountain Dew, and the hissing sound made Nebula slightly jump where she sat. She eyed the can warily, clearly unsure about this Earth beverage.

"Don't be afraid. It's not gross or anything strange, you know I would never do that to ya," Peter said reassuringly, holding out the soda to her. "Try it. You'll love it."

Nebula stared at Peter in the eyes for a long moment, trying to discern any hidden motives. Instead, she found sincere kindness in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she accepted the can from him.

Finally, she took a tentative sip. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she gasped as the flavor hit her tongue. It was unlike anything she had ever tasted before, a combination of sweetness and fizz that intrigued her taste buds.

She looked up at Peter in shock, her expression clearly saying, "Are you kidding me with how good this is?"

Peter laughed, clearly pleased with her reaction.

"I know, right! See? I'm hooking you up! I told you you'd like—"

Before Peter could finish what he was about to say, Nebula began chugging the soda as if she was dying of thirst.

Peter could only watch, stunned, at what he was witnessing, his mouth having formed an 'O' in surprise.

In seconds, Nebula finished the drink and then crushed the empty soda can in her hand. Then, abruptly, she let out a long, loud belch, her face turning slightly red with embarrassment and she covered her mouth. She shyly looked up at Peter, waiting for his reaction.

"Uh... Hey, don't worry. Burping is totally normal when you drink pop, and while the way you chugged that thing down was pretty odd, it was not a bad thing... It... it, and with the burping after... was kinda strangely hot, actually," Peter admitted, his face flushing with embarrassment as he spoke, surprised by the words coming out of his mouth.

I am definitely in love right now. Peter thought, his heart doing somersaults as he looked at her.