Comes after "This Is Why You Woke Me" in book 2, immediately after the final scene of GOTG2.  I was listening to old music and this one helped write.  

https://youtu.be/8ZsQSTNX6KY

"It's just...some unspoken thing."

With the Colors of Ogord beginning to fade, replaced once again by the dark depths of space, you stood with the rest of the Guardians to watch the Ravagers depart. Groot had quickly found his way onto your shoulder, always choosing you over pretty much anyone else since his rebirth into this tiny version of himself; you were just more comfortable, and always a safe place to be.

When Gamora whispered those words to Peter, you were at the far end of the line of teammates, but you heard her as plain as day. The way he looked down at her left you staring as you watched, voyeuristic in your focus but you didn't care if he saw you or not. The two of you had been together for a long time now, since they had rescued you and brought you into this life, making you a full member of their dysfunctional family. But now, that family felt like a façade, and like you had been living with your head buried in the sand this whole time.

"I'm going to bed," you snapped, holding Peter's gaze when he finally looked your way, keeping the emotions at bay until you could get out of his sight. Groot wasn't about to release you, even when you knelt down for Rocket to take him, so you decided it was best to just let the little one sleep and took him with you.

"(Y/N)," Peter called out, but you didn't stop. "What's gotten into her?" he asked to the group, only to get shrugs and dismissive waves in return.

"Hmm, I don't know, Star Munch, this is a real puzzle," Rocket smirked. "She said she was going to bed...so my first guess is that she's tired. I could be wrong, though! I just hope it wasn't code for you to join her. I had these killer headphones that I stole...uh...bought the last time we were on Xandar, but I lost the damn things, and they were the only ones that shut out those weird noses you make in there. No one wants to hear that, man."

"I do not make weird noises!"

"You want a replay?" he threatened, ready to take on the challenge.

"No," Peter quickly shot down, "no, I do not. Let's agree to disagree. I'm gonna go check on her, so just forget this conversation ever happened."

You heard him behind you, only making your steps quicken in the anticipation of having to talk to him and not being ready. All you felt was confusion and a little bit of hurt, and it muddled your thoughts; to try to form anything near a coherent sentence was a joke and if you were going to confront Peter about his shameless flirting with Gamora right in front of you, you wanted it to be effective so he finally understood how this was making you feel. Closing the door and locking it quickly behind you, there was no bother to even change into clothes for sleep, instead just dropping yourself onto your mattress to leave poor Baby Groot to hang on for his life.

"I am Groot!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie, I forgot you were there," you apologized quickly, gently taking him in your hands to help him rest on one of your pillows. "Is that better? Here, let's cover you up a bit, okay?"

"I...am Grooooot," he yawned with a little nod, nestling down into the softness and warmth around him.

"Goodnight, little one."

"I...am..." he finished, asleep almost immediately. You would be lying if you said that you weren't jealous of how peaceful and carefree he looked in his slumber, and just how comfortable his small frame looked sunken down into the fluff. It only fueled your own fatigue to watch him, leaving you with heavy eyes and a contented hum in your yawn, until it was rudely interrupted by an asshat who couldn't take a hint.

When a loud banging of Peter's fist on your door nearly woke up the tiny guest next to you, it sent you into a strange, protective wrath, rushing to fling it open and stare him down with a fire of rage in your eyes so alive that he actually took two full steps back at the sight of it.

"Jesus, (Y/N), what's going on with you?" he gasped, on full alert now.

"I was almost asleep."

"You haven't even changed into your pajamas yet."

"Point being?"

"Uh...well, none, I suppose," he stammered slightly, a nervous hand running through his hair, "I was just...you seem pissed off about something."

"Wow, observant," you mocked snidely, "it's a good thing you're leading the team, Pete. We'd be bumping into walls right and left without you. Goodnight." Before he could extend his hand to block it, you slammed the door in his face and locked it again, being sure to make enough noise for him to hear the bolt turn definitively. You needed to sleep on this, to decide if what you heard and saw was enough to break things off with him, because you couldn't come up with any explanation to bring innocence to it. You were aware of how he felt about Gamora from your first day on the ship, but as you stayed with them, and him, he had assured you that nothing was going on there, and that he was committed to working on a relationship with you. What you saw just fractured that and you didn't know if your trust had been nothing more than a misplaced joke on you.

"What the hell did I do?!" he yelled through the door, his voice shrill and truly confused.

"Ask Drax!" you yelled back, hurrying to rest a hand over Groot to block your volume. When he didn't shift, you finally slid yourself under the blankets next to him and closed your eyes, hoping that a new day would bring you better insight.

~~~

Instead of taking your direction, Peter stomped his way to his own room, angry now and frustrated that you were being so unfair as to make him guess what was wrong rather than just coming out and saying it. He would admit freely that he wasn't great at relationships, and communicating about them was even worse; if you were giving him nothing, he had little hope of working it out on his own. So, as he did so often, he turned to music to change his mood and guide his thoughts, hoping that insight would come.

His thumb swiped over the Zune that Yondu had given him, flipping through song after song and not connecting with any of them. He wanted something specific, and it just wasn't coming, despite the fact that he had no idea what that something actually was. Much as you had, he flopped himself heavily onto his bed and hit shuffle, hoping that the universe would know himself better than he did.

Look out, here comes tomorrow
That's when I'll have to choose
How I wish I could borrow
Someone else's shoes

Mary, oh what a sweet girl
Lips like strawberry pie
Sandra, the long hair and pig tails
Can't make up my mind

His body sat up with a shock and a loud gasp, bolting upright in a wash of revelation, and he immediately knew what was wrong.

I see all kinds of sorrow
Wish I only loved one
Look out, here comes tomorrow
Oh, how I wish tomorrow would never come

Told them both that I loved them
Said it, and it was true
But I can't have both of them
Don't know what to do

"Dammit!" he snapped at himself, standing and tossing the device aside. "No, no, no, this is all wrong!" When he opened his door to go and talk to you, he was blocked from taking a step out by Drax, his arms crossed over his chest in challenge.

"She said she wishes to sleep."

"But I figured it out! I need to tell her that what she saw was nothing!"

"Why did you give her anything to see that would hurt her? When a man is committed to a woman, he should never take for granted that he has her affections. It's a gift that you don't seem to understand, Peter, and you are undeserving of it."

"Yes, you're right," he relented, his hands up in defeat, "I'm an asshole. I totally get that. But I see that now and I need to tell her-"

"She knows that you are an asshole."

"We all know that!" Rocket added from the pilot seat with a chuckle, not missing a beat.

"Great," Peter scoffed, "thank you. We all know that Quill is an asshole, okay? I've never tried to hide it until she-" he stopped, lowering his head and taking a long breath to clear his nerves. "Look, Drax, I just want to apologize to her, okay? I've been trying so hard to be a good guy here, and what happened was nothing, really. If she doesn't want to hear it, I'll back off, I promise."

"Hmm, I'll be watching."

"Fine, whatever," Peter agreed, pushing his way past his friend. He approached your door again and shivered at the memory of his last look into your eyes, and almost backed away, but he couldn't let this go any longer without clearing the air once and for all. "(Y/N)," he called out meekly, tapping on the door, "can I please just talk to you for a minute? I'll be quick."

He just about turned to leave after a minute or two of waiting until he heard your feet shuffling on the floor, getting closer slowly. You stopped and paused, and he wondered if you had changed your mind, but then the lock clicked and the door opened hesitantly, leaving you to lean your head against it as you looked at him. The rage in your eyes that he had feared was now replaced by exhaustion, but also a stinging sadness that killed him to know that he had caused.

"What, Pete?"

"I love you. Only you."

"Okay," you nodded weakly, stepping back to close the door, your heart just too tired to actually hear him.

"Hey, come on, I'm serious," he interrupted. He reached out and grabbed the door to stop you, his other hand taking yours. "That thing that you saw with Gamora, that was nothing. It was an old conversation that just came back around, and that was her way of telling me that she was wrong and I was right. It was hard for her to admit that I won something, I get that, and maybe her delivery wasn't the best-"

"So, there's still an unspoken thing?"

"No, (Y/N), there's not. I swear, there's not. Yeah, there was a long time ago, but that was before...before we found you. It's ancient history. You're it. I waited almost my entire life for you, and you can be damned sure that I'm not about to screw that up."

And then he gave you that stupid, lopsided grin that made his eyes sparkle; as you watched his expression shift, you could only imagine how many hours of practice it had taken him in front of a mirror to perfect it. He knew it would work, too, as it always did, but this time you saw past the playfulness and understood that he really meant what he was saying, and it was the first time he had made that confession.

"I love you, too."

"You do?" he smiled even wider. "Cool."

"Cool?" Rocket gasped in disgust, turning his chair around. "That's what you come up with? My god, woman, how do you put up with him? I would've kicked his ass to the curb a long time ago."

"I don't know, Rocket," you shrugged, "I guess I'm big on charity." Grabbing the front of his shirt, you pulled Peter into your room, laughing with him as he tripped over his feet and barely made it across the threshold without falling over. The laughing continued for a few minutes before fading away, much to the mortification of your teammate.

"Son of a bitch," Rocket hissed, sinking down in his chair, "I really miss my headphones."