The matter of fact tone that came out of Quill’s mouth shot Nikki’s head up and she quickly washed away the tears from her cheeks and composed herself. Sure, she wasn’t aware how long he had been standing there but there was no way she’d want to admit to anyone, including him that she had been crying. Crying was a sign of weakness and right now, she couldn’t afford to display weakness in front of someone. No matter whom that someone is. 

Listening to him speak was rather surprising, her face would react to the things he said. From dropped eyebrows to raised; small curls of a smile to drops of a frown and everything in between. At this moment, she didn’t feel the need to mask any other emotion aside from sadness. When he apologized for ever giving off the vibe that he would trade her for money, she sat upright, placing her small tan hands on each side of her listening closely to what he had to say. ‘Tricking’ her to go on vacation with him caused her to give him a small smile; her gaze moving down to the ground and once he finished speaking she gave a small nod. “It’s too bad you had intended on ditching me after that vacation; admittedly, I was looking forward to the idea.”

Sighing softly she continued, “I’ve lived in fear since my planet was destroyed of being sold off to some rich bastard as a display because I am the last of my people… at least that originated from the planet. So having that happened just made me witness one of the worst fears I have, so I ran. And you can’t blame me, in our line of work; money’s money no matter how you earn it. So naturally I assumed you’d do it, be the easiest money you could ever make; which is why I ran.” A small shrug lifted her shoulders, “But, I wouldn’t call you talking about being the Star-Lord as a lie, you lived up to the reputation you set for yourself.” A small smile curled her lips as she looked up at him with those chocolate brown eyes of hers. “You saved the galaxy, though, I didn’t honestly believe it when everyone told me it the was ‘The Star-Lord’ who did it, because of who I knew before.” Her eyes dropped slightly looking down at her feet as she kicked the toe of her shoe against the floor. “I owe you an apology too. I’m sorry I misjudged you at the Collectors. But I’m glad that our paths crossed again.”

“Quill! Are you upsetting her again!?” Rocket shouted as he hurried down the hall, Groot following behind him with long strides. 

“It’s just a pleasant conversation Sir Rocket, I assure you.” Nikki said to him, addressing him by a title she had seemed to pull out of thin air… which was probably not the best idea with Rocket’s already huge echo.

“Sir Rocket.” He repeated with a grin sliding in the room as if wanting to create a barrier between Quill and Nikki. “I like that. You will address me as Sir Rocket from now on.” Rocket said before looking at Nikki, realizing the redness in her eyes before turning to Quill and pointing at her. “You made her cry?! Why the hell did you make her cry?!”

“No, please.” Nikki said quickly, jumping to Quill’s defense which caused Rocket’s ears to twitch before he turned to her direction. “I was crying over something else. Quill had nothing to do with it.”

“I am Groot.” Groot said, his large head picking through the doorway as his body bent forward. 

“Nah, I don’t think she was crying about that; it had to be something Quill had done.”

Groot’s attention turned to Nikki as he repeated his sentence. “I am Groot.”

“Yes… you are…” She said in a slight confusion as a response, her eyebrows pressing together and her head jerking back slightly in a state of confusion.

“No,” Rocket began before stopping, “Well, yes he is Groot. But he said he can relate to your loss. He is the last of his kind as well.”

“Oh,” Nikki said in a bit of a surprised tone as he looked up at Groot. His face seemed almost calm, peaceful like as he looked down at her through the doorway; a gentle understanding of what she was going through. A smile crept across her lips as she nodded to him. “Thank you.”

“So anyway,” Rocket said jumping into the conversation and turning to Quill. “did I hear you say something about her leaving? Because that’s not going to happen, Sir Rocket forbids it.”