• Stars Align •||• Peter Quill X Female Reader •

Chapter 8 - Knowhere

"Heads up! We're inbound!"

My eyes slowly open up to our location. Rocket took over flying the Milano, so there's been nothing else to do other than rest my eyes a little.
Blotches of color surround what looks like a giant head in the distance. Fascinating... Peter climbs the ladder to the cockpit to see our whereabouts. "Woah," he whispers. "Woah, indeed. That looks cool. Kinda freaky, but cool," I mumble to him. "What is it?" Drax asks the question that's sitting in all of our minds.

"It's called Knowhere," Gamora explains as the Milano moves towards the head. "The severed head of an ancient celestial being. Be wary headed in, rodent. There are no regulations whatsoever here." "Sounds like our type of place," Peter quips, placing his hand on my shoulder.
As soon as I turn my head to him, he pulls his hand away and acts as if nothing happened.

We fly through the eye socket and are greeted by many pods zooming past us, each carrying something that seems important.

----

The six of us walk through the crowded street, following Gamora. "Why would anyone live at this dump?" I complain as I squeeze by a group of people who have stopped in the middle of the walkway to have a conversation. "Watch it!" one hisses behind me. Honestly, other people have places to go!

Gamora continues to walk forward and gives us a brief history of Knowhere. "Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers in to mine the organic matter within the skull. Bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid. All rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy. Suitable only for outlaws."
"Well, Y/N and I come from a planet of outlaws," Peter brags. "Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos..." "Oh yeah, John Stamos, the most dangerous one out there," I add, chuckling softly.

"It sounds like a place which I would like to visit," Drax says. "Yeah, you should," Peter agrees. My heart aches at the thought of going back home. Maybe Dad's out of prison, maybe he's still locked up. I don't really want to find out the hard way.

Before I can have any more internal monologue, a bunch of kids run up to us with their empty hands cupped. "Excuse me," one says. "Can you spare any units?" I shake my head and back away.
Out of the corner of my eye, Groot's hand goes out to a little girl. In the palm of his hand, sprouts a flower. He picks it off and hands it to her. A warm smile grows on my face. I don't say a word, though. "Get out of here." Peter shoos away the rest of the kids so that we can move forward.

We finally reach what looks like a nightclub of some sort. Pounding music and colorful lights give it away. "Your buyer's in there?" questions Rocket. "We are to wait here for his representative," Gamora tells us. A bouncer shoves someone out of the front door, shouting for them to get out. "This is no respectable establishment," Drax points out. "What do you expect us to do while we wait?" As we walk inside, I simply say, "Drink, dance, place bets you'll regret, everything. Have fun."

"Alright, then." Drax nods to me and splits off from the rest of the group. "Eh, what the hell?" Rocket shrugs, following him. Groot, as always, tags along with Rocket. Gamora veers off and finds a table to sit down at. My eyes are locked on an open balcony that has an amazing view of the stars. Like a moth to a flame, I march towards the light.

----

All of the colors remind me of old times. When Peter and I were learning how to fly a ship, we zipped through so many cosmos that it looked like we were flying in a rainbow. I lean on the railing, mesmerized as if I were a little kid again.

"Man, you won't believe what they charge for fuel out here. We might actually lose money on this job," Peter says, joining my side. "Well, Gamora seems to know what she's doing. She must know this buyer pretty well," I say, continuing to stare into the stars. I can't help but smile at the magical sight. "Remember when we'd always look at the stars? God, we were so young. It was so much fun, not having a care in the world." "Yeah. That was so long ago, but I remember it so clearly."