It took all of her being not to jump at Yondu the moment he whistled and sent the golden arrow went flying at Quill’s chest. This was the guy that raised him? That was hard to believe but then again, the more Quill talked, the more she realized that even though he was raised by them, he really knew how to manipulate them. Her gaze flicked to Gamora as she held up a gun, a gun that Nikki did recognize but the green skinned woman’s actions and expression was so calm that her stomach pulled; the fear that Gamora might actually pull the trigger was there. Little was Nikki aware that the gun couldn’t be fired unless it was in Quill’s hands…

She swallowed hard before turning her shocked expression to the crowd of men in front of her. “I’d like to remind everyone that I’m worth more alive. A lot more…” Her voice was in a small amount of fear in her voice as she continued to struggle with the bracelets in an attempt to get them off.

His talk about the Talon’s made her have a shocked expression on her face, she repeated the words softly to herself, “Going after the Talons, that’s crazy…” She muttered staring down at the floor, “They’re the most deadly group in the galaxy… taking them out would make these guys…” Her chocolate gaze flicked up, seeing that one of the guys near her happened to hear her muttering and was able to put two and two together that she was referring to them being more dangerous. His eerie smirk made her visually shiver before she stepped a little closer to the gun, which caused the once smirking individual to try to lunge forward.

“Whoa whoa there…” Rocket said coming around from behind the two women and holding his small paw towards the Ravager who almost came towards Nikki. “She’s ours. And there’s no telling how much patience Gamora has compared to the rest of us. The more you push herm the more likely she is to blow this pretty young thing’s head off. Besides…” Rocket said making his way to Nikki’s other side. “She’s not as dangerous as she looks.” With that he reached a small paw up and smacked her hard on the butt, the sound echoing with a thump around the lounge. Laughter rang from the dining area as Nikki let out a yip of surprise. During the laughter from the Ravagers she shot a death glare to Rocket who seemed to ignore it, finding some personal humor in what he had done after Nikki and Quill giving her a disgusted look over claiming she had killed one of his people.

She slid passed Rocket, the gun following her head as Gamora turned and didn’t move; she moved to Quill batting her long eyelashes. “Come on Quill, Captain, Star-Lord; however you want to be called. I can help….” She stopped batting her eyes and looked towards Yondu before looking back at Quill, “If you’ve never met the Talons, help is something you’ll need and I can be that help.” With that she batted her eyes more, the cooing of the men around her indicated that even they wanted to believe her. “I’m not as bad as you think… Take off the cuffs and I’ll behave…” She said gently holding up her wrists to him, an innocent pouting expression on her face.

Peter found it very hard to keep eye contact with Yondu for so long. Yondu was giving him a glare that he usually gave him when determining if he was going to double cross him or not (yeah, surprisingly this wasn't the first time this has happened...). Yondu always seemed to know when Quill was lying, yet it was like he was curious on what Peter had planned out in the long run. Even though Peter has gotten many threats, and seriously injured from time to time by the Ravagers, he wouldn't do anything to get them in (too much) danger.

So Yondu was thinking through his options. He could call every single one of the Guardians' bluffs, and just take Nikki. he could just kill Peter and the rest of them. But the temptation of Quill's offer was strong. Peter's concentration broke from Yondu when Nikki started talking. "I know I'm a gambling man, but letting you uncuffed is too rich for my blood, Beautiful." Quill said, looking over at her. "You'd easily take out this ship. And lose our chances of getting paid beyond our wildest dreams." He hoped that when this was done, the Council will pay them for their heroic stunt, and information of the people who tried to attack them. Yondu still gave Peter a stare when he looked back. The crew all looked eager for their leader to accept the offer, but it felt like Yondu wasn't buying it. After all they pulled off.

Peter gave a sad shrug. "Oh well... I guess we'll take our leave." Quill walked over to Nikki, lifting her up and putting her over his shoulders, a bit of showing off that Nikki was "their prisoner", and they were more than serious on taking them on. He nodded towards the exit to Gamora and Rocket, and they started for it. "Hold on a second." Yondu called out. Peter smiled, but he lost it when he turned around.

"How are you even planning on finding these Mercs?" He asked. "We know how to start trouble. They'll find us soon enough, but the process will go alot faster if they hear that the Ravagers are itching for a fight... Come on, Yondu. You and me, fighting side by side again." Peter still had Nikki on his shoulder, and he didn't know how long before his arm gave out. After another minute of silence, he held out his hand. "You got yourself a deal, Quill. But if you try anythin' funny, you're dead. And we want seventy percent of the score on this."

"We'll talk about the cut later. We'll contact you when we're in the Quadrant. We'll have a full out plan by then." And with that, the Guardians were walking out of the Ravager's headquarters, all of them surprised that they managed to pull that off... Even Quill.

Nikki pushed her bottom lip out in more of a pout, batting her long eyelashes up at him wanting him to agree to let her go. At his wording of calling her beautiful she raised an eyebrow ever-so-slightly at him before letting it drop and she couldn’t help but smirk when he mentioned that she could easily take out the ship. Her chocolate gaze flicked to crew who seemed to jump slightly, realizing that while she played innocent and batted her eyes; she really could take them all out if she wanted to… or at least that’s what they’re led to believe. Funny how wrong they were. She wasn’t capable taking out this many people and they could easily out number her. But they didn’t need to know that.

What she didn’t expect was for Quill to lift her up and put her over his shoulders. She lay against him, not fighting it and groaned slightly, as if this was common treatment but it really wasn’t. Though she found it exciting to know that he could pick her up with such ease! Being swung around was a new experience for her as the group left and came back and left again. The Ravagers agreeing to help them take out the other Mercs! This was quite a day. Upon their arrival back on the ship, after Quill put her down she turned to Rocket. “What was that about?” She asked gesturing towards the ship as they walked deeper into their ship. “Just putting on a good show.” He answered simply before picking up his pace away from her still feeling like it was a victory.

Shaking her head she rolled her eyes and looked down at the bracelets on her wrists. “These are very pretty Gamora…”

“Thanks, I’ve had them for a while. You can keep them if you’d like but you need to have them on the next time that we encounter the Ravagers.”

“The only ironic thing will be to if they think I’m too dangerous or have the ability to get away I’m not going to be any use while taking out the Mercs.” She looked over her shoulder at Quill as they got into the meeting room/kitchen area. “Unless Quill can work his magic to get them to agree to let me help.” She said with a nod and a grin to him.

“What about a bounty…?” Rocket begin as he climbed into a chair.

A laugh left Nikki, “You haven’t been on the other side of the galaxy recently have you?” She chuckled leaning against one of the chairs. “The Talons are well known throughout the far side of the galaxy and even the Novas are after them. I don’t know what the bounty count is but I can tell you that bounty does list as ‘dead or alive’. The Novas don’t really care one way or another as long as they’re out of the way. That’s something the Ravagers and the Novas have in common.” A smile curled her full lips showing her straight white teeth, “You wanna talk about a bounty? Even getting only thirty percent we’ll be pretty comfortable for a while.” Standing back upright she stretched her arms into the air before letting her arms fall to her sides before turning to face Quill.

“So I’ll go check what the bounty is, sound good?”

Quill dropped Nikki gently when the doors closed and they made a good distance for the main area. They quickly made it back on their ship. The group started talking, and grinning that the plan actually worked, and Quill gave a small smile as he watched Nikki starting to fit right in with everyone. He knew that she would. They climbed in to the Milano, Groot and Drax waiting to hear the news. It was obvious that they were successful. When Nikki made the comment about him working his magic, he grinned and shrugged. "I'm sure we can convince them that we threatened you to help us with your fancy bracelets on." Quill said as he climbed up in to the cock pit, pulling out of the large Ravager ship safely. Once he set a course to Nowhere (the little fight they had with Zero most likely died down now, and no one would think twice about going after Nikki again), Quill came down the stairs to hear them talk about the bounty.

He rubbed his hands together with a smile. "Check it out, we need to make a pit stop at Nowhere to get some fuel, and then we'll start our course to across the galaxy, then we'll start causing some trouble." Quill said with a nod. "I am Groot." Groot said to Rocket.

"How do you think I did? I was perfect! A true actor!" He replied, jumping off the seat and going towards the armory, Groot following behind him. "Quill, there is a matter I would like to discuss to you about." He said seriously (moe than usual). Peter sat down next to him. "What's up?" Peter asked, Drax started to look up, but Peter stopped him. "what do you want to talk about?" He stated clearly.

"When Ronin murdered my family under Thanos' orders. I have also learned that Talon Mercs were also attacking with Ronin's army." Drax said quietly, looking down at his blade. "I do not expect you to understand me, but I plan on finding the Talon leader, and ripping his head off." Drax said bluntly. Peter blinked a few times, and slowly nodded. "Alright... But maybe there's another way we can go about this, what if the bounty money is a lot more if he's alive--"

"I do not care about money!" Drax said loudly, slamming his fist on the table. "I do not expect you to follow my actions, but I will do this. For my family." Before Peter could say anything Drax left. Peter didn't know what to say. He didn't really like the thought of killing, but he knew that Drax was all about revenge for his family's death. Peter respected that, but he wasn't sure he could let it happen... He sighed and leaned back, weighing his options. He will have to make a final one once they come face to face with the Talons...

“You got it captain.” Nikki said playfully as she went into the computer room and began typing away on the computer. Did she ever expect to find a group of people she got along with? No. Did she ever expect to find her freedom to travel the galaxy with assassin, a pair of other bounty hunters, a stern and serious man and of course; Peter Quill. In the mists of her typing she couldn’t help but grin to herself. A half human half Spartoi and the prince of the Empire; her people’s mortal enemy’s only son and heir to the throne is helping her achieve her freedom by doing something no one would have ever guessed…

The information required quite a bit of digging but she got her answers. They were wanted dead or alive, alive was considered much more valuable unless they had the leader and his commanding officer dead; then proof was all that was needed. “Hm…” Nikki muttered allowed as she placed her elbow on the table and stared at the screen. The question was how many should they bring back alive versus dead; in addition to that, how many would the Ravagers allow them to return. They’d have to be the one collecting the bounty; the Novas wouldn’t take them seriously if they showed up but if the Guardians showed up with a handful of people and a cargo of corpses, they wouldn’t turn them away or refuse payment.

Nikki chuckled inside, listening to her own thought she realized that she was thinking of herself as one of them without even blinking an eye. That’s really what Quill seemed to want, he seemed like he wanted her to know that she was accepted by them, that she was one of them. Peter Quill, her husband…

The screen suddenly flashed a few times before a blocked name came up. When it came down to it, that could be anyone. Clicking the answer button, Nikki picked it up. “Milano.”

“Nikki.” Rick’s face appeared on the screen which caused the blue haired woman to look up in surprise. Rick sat in a chair in front of the screen wearing a comfortable flannel shirt and a pair of blue jeans. “Nikki I’m glad I finally got a hold of you. Hear me out, please. I want you to reconsider what you’re doing with Quill.”

“I told you already, I want my freedom. And the only person who can give me that is Quill….” She said defensively.

“But we could travel, you and I. It wouldn’t have to be for work. No more running, no more hiding, no more fighting for your life and no more lock down. You could come and go as you please, we could go together. You’d never have to worry about not being safe, never have to fear that someone’s coming after you, that you’ll get hurt. You’ll live happily… with me.”

“Rick…” She said in desperation, her voice clearly indicating that she didn’t want to talk about it.

“Look Nikki just--- just hear me out. Let me take you on one date, just one. The next time you come to a council meeting. No suit, no weapons, no restrictions or rules; just you, me and a nice night out. I know you’re only with Quill because you think it’s your only way out and I want you to know it’s not.”

“You’re wanting…” Her head rose, her chocolate eyes turning to the screen, blue eyebrows raised. “You’re wanting to take me, a married woman, out on a date?”

“If you want to look at it from a legal standpoint, yes.” He said rather bluntly giving a firm nod.

Nikki rose from her seat, unsure of how to answer it; when it really came down to it, she never gave Rick much of a chance, and she did jump into things with Quill but… she liked Quill, a lot… “You’ll have to ask Quill.”

“Okay first off, it’s your choice not his, and secondly why would I ask him anyway.”

“Basically boils down to the fact that he’s my legal husband and on Xander he’s my legal guardian.”

“But you’d say yes.”

“Are you willing to take the risk or not Nova?” She asked crossing her arms, and without missing a beat Rick responded with a yes. The blue haired girl made her way down the stairs after putting Rick on hold and went into the dining area to find Peter sitting by himself.

“Whoa, you look like you just got hit with something hard.” She said seeing his face. Walking to him she placed her hand gently on his shoulder with a small smile. “Don’t worry Star-lord; everything will work out in the end.” Yeah just a bit of an ego stroke before she began, “Good news is; price is good dead or alive as long as we have proof. Bad news is…” She bit her lower lip softly and sighed pulling her hand from his shoulder. “You have a phone call on hold.” She nodded softly before sliding her hands into her back pockets and turned, walking towards the cockpit to take in the view of space she called out behind her. “And just so you’re aware; my answer is No. Because I’m happy.” With that she climbed up into the cockpit and stood at the window looking out awaiting to hear what her ‘husband’ has chosen.

Peter looked behind him to see Nikki walking towards him. He gave a shrug and look away as she said that he looked like he was thinking. Her hand on his shoulder and her words made him look up at her and smile, but that was it. He wasn't sure how everyone will feel when they know that Drax will let them lose money on killing a very important person in the criminal world. "Phone call?" he asked quizzically, looking over at her, then watching her go up to the cock pit. Peter took in her words, a bit nervous to see who it could possibly be. Yondu saying he changed his mind? The falcons saying that they already launched a missile at them?

When he answered the call, the reality was much worse than his imagination. "Nova?" Quill asked, staring at the screen. He wasn't wearing his uniform, and before Peter could make fun of him for it, Rick spoke up. "Look, I don't know why you signed those papers, but Nikki doesn't belong there with you guys."

"What?"

"So I'd like you to bring her back. We can file for your divorce and she'll be safer here on Xandar."

"Seriously man? She doesn't want to be on Xandar, we aren't getting a 'divorce', and if you think she'd like to spend her time with a goodie-two-shoes asshole on a planet that forces her to be something she isn't, think again!" Peter exclaimed. "Why'd you even sign the papers Quill? She's not a criminal, she deserves better than your run down ship, and an outlaw for a fake husband. And besides, she's just another girl to you, hell, even your race's sworn enemy."

"Don't act like you know me." Peter said, glaring at the screen. "Just because you read my records doesn't mean you understand me. And I'm not Spartoi. I'm Terran. And she deserves more than being cooped up dreaming about the galaxy, while some government lap dog she barely met flirts with her. She's a Guardian. A drifter at heart, someone without a home." He remembered what she told him just minutes before this. "She's happy here... I thought someone like you would get that." Quill cut off communications, giving a sigh as he looked around. Will that clown ever quit? He had some nerve calling his ship run down!

He would assume that literally no one would be happy with this surprise marriage Nikki threw upon them... But she seemed happy doing this. Going out and exploring the galaxy, doing a bit of good, a bit of bad, a bit of both... He decided to walk in to the cockpit, seeing the blue haired woman staring out in to space. He wasn't like any girl he's met. She had the curiosity of a Terran, the bravery of a Metra, and everything good in between... He didn't know what being a Spartoi meant, but it seemed to be that they had the abilities to hold infinity stones in his hands, and be major assholes.

He walked past her, sitting down in the captain's chair, plotting a course to Nowhere. "He's got a lot of nerve asking a married woman out on a date." Quill said with a shrug. "I'm not much of a jealous type, but he's lucky I turned off the call before I got really angry..." he said looking over at her with a smile, then back at the stars. "I know your choices were limited to an asshole government lapdog and the even bigger asshole outlaw who's in command of the deadliest people in the galaxy... But I'm glad you chose the second one. Because I'm happy too." Peter said quietly. He wasn't good at this sincerity thing, but it was what he thought. He was truly happy she chose to be with these very dangerous and stupid band of people than choosing the hunky space cop.

"Besides all you'd hear about on your guys' date was all the lame political stuff he was in charge of and how much wax he uses to clean his helmet. Here you can hear stories about how we searched through a deadly space cult's ship for a kidnapped child and a wedding ring that belonged to the Queen of Planet IX8-9... We don't usually brag, but we're so much cooler than Nova.." Peter said innocently, shrugging yet again.

Nikki’s tan fingers tapped against her bare forearms as she stared out into space awaiting the response from the conversation with Quill and the Nova. Being bound by the planets laws of marriage sucked but her choices were a fat short man she knew nothing about, a Terran who’s more inclined to remind her how much she hated being stuck in one place for a long time, or a half Terran half Spartoi whom seemed to enjoy doing a bit of good, a bit of bad and has changed a surprising amount since the first time they met. He didn’t seem to be as flirtatious as they were before but he seemed a bit… well more caring in a way.

Footsteps were heard from behind her and her head slowly turned; her chocolate brown gaze landing on the captain as he walked passed her and took a seat in his chair. As he spoke, her lips curled into a smile. Unlike most girls, she could appreciate a ‘jealous’ type of personality; being protective over something that you treasure isn’t a bad thing. But did he treasure her? Something told her that it was a high probability. “My choices weren’t that limited. I did have the option of a short fat alien from a planet I had never heard of but apparently wanted to take me for his wife. Out of the three, I know I made the right choice… even though I didn’t go about it in the conventional sense.”

When he turned his attention back to the stairs, she allowed her arms to fall to her sides feeling at ease once again. He would take her choice into account, that much she was sure of but when it comes to the law under the government that they had ‘married’ each other, she had to do what he said; unless he told her not to go to the councilors meetings, that he didn’t have much of a say in. It was hard to believe that situation she was in and who she was with. The Guardians of the Galaxy, thee Guardians of the Galaxy; the band of misfits causing issues for other bounty hunters around the galaxy, doing a bit of good and a bit of bad and surviving along the way. Now they were welcoming her as one of them. Gamora was not alone as a female, Groot had someone knew to teach his language to, Drax had someone to share war stories with, Rocket had someone to flirt with and Quill had… had—well Nikki, whatever that was.

Walking up behind him, she placed her hands gently now his shoulders and began to give him a massage, “Oh yes, those Novas are such braggers. Always talking about helmet wax and political non-sense; when you can talk about high flying adventures, damsels in distress and capturing one of the highest bounty prize out there while still delivering it to the mandatory meetings for the Galaxing leaders. Hm….” Her voice was filled with a playful joking tone as she leaned forward and whispered to him, “Must be hard to know what to do with all of that cool-ness.” With that she pulled back from his ear and continued to massage his shoulders.

“So Captain, what’s next?”

Peter was still watching the stars as Nikki talked. When he was a kid, he would often look out the windows of the Ravager's ships, and wonder which little sparkling dot of light was Earth, and if he would ever go back there... After defeating Ronin, he looked at the stars and realized just how small this galaxy was, and how it only takes one man to threaten its existence. Their existence. Yeah, he was definitely a different man than the one Nikki met all those years ago. He was still hot headed, hard to like, a smartass, and likes to make some money doing this stuff... But he now had an understanding, and acceptance. He wasn't afraid anymore. He was Star-Lord: The leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy!

Nikki's hands on his shoulders were unexpected, but after everything they've gone through, like fighting his dad, to being attacked on Xandar, to negotiating with Yondu on his home turf and surviving through all of that... Her hands messaging his tense muscles felt amazing. His shoulder's dropped, moving his head around to loosen his neck, eyes closed as he enjoyed the feel of her hands and sound of her sweet voice. She was definitely one of a kind. She could take on an entire alien army single handedly and win, yet her voice was far from rough and tough. It was like soft silk. It was welcoming, teasing. "Hmm.." Peter managed to let out.

"I'm glad you agree. Screw Nova and their fancy pants politicians." Peter said quietly. Her voice next to his ears sent shivers down his spine. He was so relaxed that he didn't answer her question at first, only giving a scoff. He gently took one of her hands, and looked at it as if inspecting it. Her fingers were callused from her years of fighting, and traveling, but there were spots where they were soft to the touch, little bits of scars were on her tanned skin, showing her experience. They had a beauty to them, exactly like her. She was so tough and strong, and brave, yet gentle and merciful and loving. He gently pressed his lips against her fingers.

"Well we have to get some fuel for the ship to rendezvous with Yondu and his band of misfits to fight another big band of misfits, and somehow survive that whole mess so the Galactic Counsel off our backs so we can get back to doing our own thing. Not a bad first assignment for you, huh rookie?" He looked up at her with a grin.

Upon hearing Quill say to screw the Nova and their fancy parties she couldn’t help but laugh. While she loved the thought of leaving it all behind and never having to deal with it again, she knew she couldn’t get away with that. She was a princess after all and she had to look and act the part. But if she only had to do it once and a while so the rest of the time she could live free and do what she pleased then so be it. Well as far as one can do within the confidence of a marriage right? Then again Quill didn’t really, well he cared a little but at least he understood where she was coming from.

When he moved one of her hands from his shoulder, she watched him in awe as he observed her hands. It felt as long he was looking at something precious. The longer he stared at them the more her heart pounded in her chest to the point she feared he could feel it in her hand. What was this feeling!? This was something new, something she had never experienced before. Her heart was pounding, her breathing was heavy and her head felt light as she watched his face look at her hand. The longer he observed the more nervous she felt.

Upon his lips hitting her fingers her breathe cut in a small gasp. His lips were as soft as she remembered, even more so after all they had just been through. Wow… what was this feeling…

Her mind snapped back to reality when he finished talking and she caught that he called her a rookie. “Rookie… me?” She said in a questioning tone as her other hand moved to his neck, gently rubbing it with her fingertips. “I’m far from a rookie. I’m a warrior princess who’s been on the run since I was real young, hunting bounties and surviving. I’m far from a rookie.”

----

The trip was a smooth one and Nikki found herself resting most of the time in her room, half asleep for most of the journey but when she wasn’t; she was walking around and talking with Quill. She had never found herself wanting to be as close to someone as much as she was being around Quill. She would spend time in the kitchen while it was his turn to cook talking and laughing and dare she say---flirting a bit... She’d even go to the cockpit to look at the stars more only to find him appear with her or him at the controls. Again she would massage his shoulders and they would continue to talk.

She shared stories of her people, traditions of her planet and exciting adventures of her own while she listen to his. This is what people consider ‘bonding’, maybe they were bonding. All she knew was that she was having a good time.

Landing on a nearby planet to refuel and restock the kitchen. Nikki and Gamora left the ship first before wondering into the market. “So… you and Quill?” Gamora began…

“It’s nothing… we’re just getting to know each other that’s all.”

“But why him? Why him for the whole marriage thing?”

“Who else would allow me to have the freedom to roam the galaxy?”

“I get that…” Gamora said with a sigh before giving Nikki a small nudge with her elbow. It’s hard to believe they went from hating each other to getting along very well. “But maybe it’s more than that?”

Nikki picked up a funny looking brown piece of something and sniffed it before making a gagging noise and putting it down. “I don’t have to say anything; now excuse me while I hunt for dinner supplies.” With that and a bright red face, the blue haired beauty began to roam the market looking for something to make for her turn for dinner.

"Yondu ain't gonna like it when he finds out that you have more to the plan, Quill."

"Well, hopefully by the time he figures it out, he'll be in charge of the biggest merc group in the galaxy, and we will be very far away from him."

Rocket, Groot, and Peter sat in the main room of the ship, cleaning the weapons for the battle they had in stock, as Gamora and Nikki left the ship. "I am Groot." The large creature said with a hint of skepticism.

"Oh come on," Peter said with a roll of his eyes. "We've fought races of intergalactic armies, fought off ancient ghost like warriors, made it out of every ancient labyrinth out there that seems to be in every civilization--"

"Yeah, we went through a lot of mazes... What's up with mazes?"

"Exactly! This merc group shouldn't be that bad! Just... Don't think about the last time we went against them." Quill's voice died down a bit when he said that, his eyes going back to his blasters. "And besides, we got two badass assassins now, plus the whole support of the Ravagers."

"Yeah... Is she, like, a member now? Because we are all kinda confused on this relationship you have with her. Its just you're married, but not reaaallly married to her, but you guys spend a lotta time together, and she's a bounty, but she's no longer a bounty to us--"

"It's nothing that concerns you, that's what it is... But yeah, for now she's a part of our little family here." Quill wanted to add: "until she wants to leave" but he didn't want to say it, mostly because he didn't want it to happen.

"I am Groot!"

"Yeah, you guys love leavin' Groot and I out of the drama! We like gossip too!"

"There's no drama! And also, that's not true! We don't tell Drax anything!"

"That's because he doesn't care, unless it has bloodshed and killing!"

At that moment Drax pops his head into the room, looking around. "I overheard the word 'Bloodshed' in here." Rocket looks over at Quill as if saying "I told you so!"

"It's nothing, alright? there's no reason to freak out about it. This is the last stretch until we meet at the rendezvous point with Yondu. When the ship refuels and the girls come back we'll have enough time to go over the plan again, eat, and try to get some sleep. So, lets do without this drama for now."

Nikki had been shopping for what felt like an eternity before finding what she wanted to make for dinner that night. Soon she found herself humming one of Quill’s songs he played over the speaker system. Thinking back on their time together it was funny to think they had gone from hating each other to… whatever they were now. Married? Yeah in the legal sense but they seemed to like each other for the most part.

Oh… the council. Her humming was cut short when she realized that soon they would call her in to doing one of the pointless meetings where she’d have to dress up and show herself. Nikki knew full well that they wouldn’t listen to her, yet she was still required to be there. The look on Quill’s face, well everyone’s face was hilarious when they realized that Quill had signed the papers making them legally married. Sure, she got a verbal lashing when they were on the ship; but it was the price of her freedom and as someone who understood that sometimes, you can put a price on someone’s life; Quill did sympathize from the direction she was coming from.

Letting out a small sigh she shook her head. It still wasn’t right but she had no other choice. She was just lucky that Quill didn’t kick her out. Packing up the items she returned to the ship.

Inside she began her work in the kitchen, her skillful hands cutting up pieces of food and tossing them in a pot.