The hangover that ensued after their night out had paled in comparison to the headache she'd gotten from her fight. Or at least that's what they said happened. In all honesty the pieces she remembered were scattered and somewhat vague. Something had happened though, because for the next week she had two dark eyes and a stitch in her nose.

What she'd never do again was allow Quill to buy her drinks, or anyone. That's how she got in trouble, not having to pay meant drinking more than she could afford. Cass sank onto her cot, not bothering to change and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. She needed to sleep right now, her head fogged with swirling thoughts.

Sleep. That's what she wanted, but not what she'd get. Cass lay out on her cot, eyes open, staring off into the dark. A day ago she'd finished cleaning the ship. All she was doing now was defensive tidying up after the tornado these men left in their wake. In all honesty she thought it would take longer, two month, three months, but it had only been a few weeks. She worried that they'd decide she wasn't useful, and take it upon themselves to tidy up after getting rid of her.

The Guardians had begun to act strange. Groot was beyond taller than she'd thought he'd grow. He stood a good seven or eight feet now, and followed her around relentlessly when Rocket didn't intervene. Rocket, he'd never fully trusted her. That much she could tell. But now he didn't watch her with the same distrust, instead is never ending gaze seemed more analytical. Then there was Drax. Ever since the stunt in the bar he'd been simultaneously avoiding her, yet finding reasons to help. Just a few days ago he'd sighed and made a deal about helping her lift heavy objects then slunk off just to reappear again to help without her asking. Like he didn't want to want to be near her, if that made any sense. Last but not least, were Quill and Gamora, who'd taken to stopping and watching every time Drax and her were in the same room. Or whispering behind their hands about the next job when she came near.

Cass had finally admitted to herself that she found Drax attractive. Just the thought made her roll over on her cot and cover her face in her hands, embarrassed. It wasn't his fault that he was gentle with her, abstractly funny, kind to his friends, and warm. All those things together made him, well, attractive. Cass sighed into her thin pillow, letting her mind drift to what might happen if she showed up at his door and asked to snuggle. Again she rolled over and smothered herself with her pillow, face blazing red.

Only children who are afraid of the dark ask to snuggle. Cass rolled back over and stared up at the ceiling in the dark. Even if a man like that knew she was a woman, she definitely wasn't his type. How had he put it when they first met, she was 'pale and flabby', or something along those lines.

She had to give the man props for honesty though.

Early the next morning her homemade alarm beeped, but she was already up. Slapping the machine off she smacked her hands against her clothes, a residual habit left from when she'd had to get the dust out.

To her surprise, when she entered the kitchen she wasn't the first one there.

"Mornin'," Rocket stood on one of the counters, fishing through the cabinets.

"Morning," Cass muttered, trying to act like she wasn't startled to see him there.

"Had to be up early to land," Rocket explained without being asked. "This girls mighty good at flying, but can't seem to land herself quite yet."

They lapsed into awkward silence. A common occurrence for them. She knew he suspected her of something, she just didn't know what it was yet. Trying to act cool, she watched the floor and leaned back against the counter.

"Where are we?" She asked, making sure to keep eye contact to a minimum.

"Xander, Quill says Nova Prime's requested we help them with something," Rocket tipped open a box and peered inside before shaking his head and shoving it back.

Cass couldn't breathe. Xander. They were on Xander. She stumbled back out of the kitchen, nearly colliding with Quill. The shock of seeing him stopped her heart for a second.

"Hey, what's with you? Looks like you saw a ghost," Quill laughed but his brow furrowed with concern.

"N-nothin' just, just…" Cass was unable to think of an excuse for her weird behavior, so she leaned on the table and smiled, trying to act natural, "ya know." She shrugged and ran her hand through her hair.

"Noooo," Quill narrowed his eyes and slowly walked past her, not looking away. "I'm not sure I do."

Cass laughed again, smiling stupidly, trying to back away. Her heel caught on a chair and she stumbled slightly, trying to laugh that off as well, then darted down the hall to her room.

Xander. Xander. Xander. Never had she thought they'd come here. Cass paced the small space, one hand clutching the locket she'd been wearing since Huran, the other running continuously though her hair. She hadn't mentally prepared herself for this. She wished they'd have given her a bit more warning.

Calm down, she told herself, breathing slowly. Perhaps this was the sign she needed, after all the ship was clean, she wasn't actually needed here anymore. Cass sank to the edge of her cot and popped the little locket open. On one side her and her twin brother Orion smiled up at her, on the other her mother and father looked longingly at one another.

If, and only if, they hadn't moved in the last twelve years, this was where they'd moved to. Cass closed her eyes and snapped the locket shut. She was a free woman now, able to do things for herself, make her own decisions. Today she was going to go see them.

Heart pounding she rummaged around in her bag and pulled out the box with Orion's letters. They'd been sent old fashioned style, on a ship bound for her Xandarian outpost. There wasn't any other way really. Huran was a poor planet, and the Boron factory that had been their only real source of income had dried up when she was young, so they'd never gotten the fancy machines. Lucky for her. Cass ran her hand over the childish scrawling on the front. She prayed to her Sun that they hadn't moved.

Taking what units she'd earned so far, she'd found a transport center. Doing her best to ignore the pointed stares from the far better dressed driver, she settled in the backseat. This was just as nerve-wracking as when she'd gotten on the Milano for the first time. Already she'd nearly turned back several times, telling herself that there was no way something this good could be happening.

Cass tried to remain calm and watch out the window. Surprisingly they didn't go far, just outside the city center, in a row of white homes. She thanked the driver and handed over the units. All the homes were in a neat row, connected together, perfectly identical.

Again she checked the address. This was definitely the right house, she thought, standing at the end of the driveway. Nervously she crumbled the old paper in her hand, heart pounding erratically as she stepped up the first few steps. Even her hand hovered a few inches away from the bell, unsure if she wanted to actually press it.

Yes she did! Jerking her hand out she hit the button before she could stop herself again and danced away. Oooooh, no turning back now, she thought, dread pouring though her. What if it was someone else's house now? What if they called the Corps on her? Cass ran her hands down her face at the thought, she was dressed like a hobo after all.

"Can I help you?" A woman asked.

Cass jumped and straitened, heart stopping entirely. Leaning out the door was an older brunette woman with streaks of gray showing in her pulled up style. Cass remembered her being taller. She remembered her with laugh lines instead of worry lines between her eyes. But she definitely remembered those eyes, just like hers, dark brown with a hint of gold.

"Mom," Cass breathed out, unable to say anything else.

Her eyes narrowed, glancing over Cass, then hovering on her face. For a second Cass worried she might not remember her, then her eyes widened. "Cassiopeia?"

Relief flooded Cass and she nearly crumpled to the porch, "yea, it's me, surprise." Tears threatened to appear as her mom stepped out and closed the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

Cass's heart lurched, "what? I-I came to see you, and Orion."

Her mom's eyes darted up and down the street nervously, and she crossed her arms uncomfortably in front of herself.

"Is he alright?" Cass asked, taking a step back and glancing at the ground.

"He's fine. You shouldn't have come," her mom's jaw tightened. She didn't seem mad as much as embarrassed.

Silence fell over them, her mom shifting awkwardly and refusing to really look at her. Cass's throat tightened. "I traveled really far to get here, it wasn't easy." She finally said, her voice breaking lightly at the end.

"You shouldn't have," her mom glanced down at her shoes.

Her heart hurt when she heard that, every beat felt sharp as it bounced off her ribs. "Why not? I thought-" her voice broke again, this time she couldn't continue as she blinked away the tears that threatened.

"You don't belong here," her mom shrugged, unperturbed by the emotions welling in Cass. In fact now she returned her gaze, this time emotionless and cold. "I left that planet with what I wanted."

Another stab to the heart. Cass drug her hand back through her hair, breathing heavily. "Why not me?" Something new began truly bubbling in her chest. "Why didn't you bring me?"

"I'm not going to tell a long story, blah blah blah, I couldn't stand you." Her mom waved her hand dismissively at Cass and she took another step back.

"But I thought-" Cass began, unable to believe what her mom had said.

"And your father thought I loved him," her mom cut her off. "You and your brother were complete opposites. You couldn't sleep through the night, you cried all the time, you needed help eating, you, you, you." Her mom rolled her eyes at the memory.

"I was a baby," Cass breathed, her chest felt tight, she didn't understand.

"Your brother wasn't like that, no, when I finally left, I could tell he'd grow up to be something," her mom smiled and nodded, gazing off in the distance. "And he did."

"I want to see him," Cass said. Stepping up, she was her mom's height now, if not a smidge taller.

"Let me think…no." Her mom took a step back, hand on the door. "You're not welcome here Cass. If you come by again, I'll call the Corps." With that she slammed the door shut.

Cass stood there for a second longer, just staring at the white door. When she'd been thinking of everything that could go wrong, she hadn't considered this. She stumbled stiff legged down the steps and to the path, not bothering to call for a ride, instead she decided to walk.

Walking would do her some good. She gripped the letter so tight the edges of the paper cut into her palm. If she were lucky a transport would hit her and she wouldn't have to deal with this life anymore.

Rocket paced the room. It wasn't as if he didn't like Xander, not since his record had been wiped at least. He just didn't want to be here, at this particular moment in time. Drax sat at the table, sharpening his freaking knife since they'd landed.

"Isn't that thing sharp enough?" Rocket finally snapped. The sound of the sharpener was really beginning to get on his nerves.

Drax stopped, glancing up to Rocket for a moment, then continued to sharpen his knife. "One's blade is never too sharp."

"Aaaaag," Rocket ran his paws over his face. He wanted to do something, shoot someone, all this waiting around was going to be the end of him. Caden ambled into the room, he'd ducked out shortly after his skitzoid routine this morning. "Hey, where you been?" He asked.

"Huh," Caden glanced down at him, seemingly lost.

Rocket furrowed his brow, this guy was getting weirder every day. "I asked where you been." He repeated.

"Nowhere," Caden shrugged. That dazed look on his face concerned Rocket. He glanced over to Drax who'd stopped sharpening his knife and shared a silent agreement.

"We don't believe you," Rocket spoke for both of them.

"Oh," Caden nodded, "that's unfortunate." He shrugged and wandered away, dropping something in the garbage before disappearing down the hall.

Rocket and Drax exchanged another silent glance.

"That was most peculiar," Drax said, watching the empty doorway.

"Weird, the guys weird," Rocket jogged over to the garbage, glancing down the hall to make sure it was empty before retrieving whatever it was he'd tossed. Drugs, that guy had to be on some sort of drugs. Tossing it onto the table he jumped up onto the stool and smoothed it out.

Or he had a pen pal. The handwriting was childish, but it was sent from one Orion Luminera to a Cassiopeia Luminera. Rocket shook his head, why did Caden have this letter? Flipping the envelope open he found it empty.

"Dammit," Rocket flipped it back over and stared at it. This meant something, but what? Quietly he chewed his lip, thinking this over. Under Orion's name was a Xandarian address, yet Cassiopeia had a Huranian address. Was he like a messenger boy for this family? Now he had a moral dilemma, delve into the guys business and sate his curiosity, or stay out and mind his damn business. Though, whatever happened, had clearly shaken Caden. Perhaps he could just go check on it, to, better understand how to help him. "Hey, I'll be right back, watch the ship."

"I wish to join," Drax stood quickly and fell into a lumbering pace with Rocket. He growled quietly but didn't refuse. He was doing this for Caden, he reminded himself.

The address they wound up at was completely obscure. Rocket looked at the row of housed and rechecked the envelope. Something about this house had really startled Caden.

Hopping up the steps he jumped up and smacked the bell, then stepped back and waited. Drax kept checking around them, as if he suspected an ambush in the middle of a Xandarian neighborhood.

"Can I help y-" A woman opened the door. She looked perfectly normal. Brown hair, brown eyes, pretty average if you asked him. "Oh my goodness. You're Rocket! And the Destroyer!" Her hand fluttered to her chest and she took a step back into the house.

"Yea, that would be us," Rocket glanced around the woman into the house, everything seemed totally normal.

"Where are my manners, please come inside." The woman rounded on them, circling behind them and pushing on each of their backs to get them through the door before they could fully protest. Caden wasn't much of a touchy kind of guy, maybe her behavior freaked him out. "I knew, after you guys saved Xander, that you'd eventually come by." The woman pushed him into a chair and fluttered around.

"You knew?" Rocket asked. He narrowed his eyes, watching the woman collect things on a tray.

"Of course, my son is the best pilot on Xander after all, even though he was away until recently." The woman slammed the tray down in front of him with excitement.

"Oh, yea, well," Rocket stumbled over his words flashing a look at Drax for backup but he was busy examining the room, as if he expected an ambush in the kitchen. "We actually saw a guy around here earlier, was that your son?"

They both stared at each other for a moment. Confusion furrowing her brow, which confused him.

"Guy? No, I've only had one visitor today, and it wasn't Orion." Her lips tightened into a line and she stiffened her back.

Orion was the name on the letter. So this was the right house, this was Orion and Cassiopeia's mother, but what did this have to do with Caden? Rocket grabbed a biscuit from the plate and bit into it, giving himself a moment to think.

"What are you looking for that person for?" She asked, running her fingers along the table edge.

"That's not important," Drax pulled one of his knives out of its sheath, using it to stab a biscuit from across the table. Rocket knew it didn't mean anything. But from the way Mrs. Luminera leaned back in her chair, he knew she took it as a threat.

"Looking for that GUY huh? How much exactly do you know about HIM?" She asked, smoothing out the table cloth, and putting too much emphasis on those words.

"Not much, a total no one if you ask me, we are just doing a bit of work on the side," Rocket shrugged and grabbed another biscuit, she might be weird but at least she baked well.

"Well, then I think you should know that your GUY isn't what he seems," she rolled her eyes and Rocket nearly dropped his food. Now they were getting somewhere. He saw Drax glance his way but ignored him, hoping he got the hint, though that was a long shot.

"What do you mean by that?" Rocket said, taking a bite.

"You've been tricked." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, Rocket pretended that she hadn't caught his attention quite yet. Inside he was practically screaming for her to just say what she knew. "His real name is Cassiopeia, and he's a she."