riverview | video; @star.lord

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video; @star.lord

[ INT. Shared Housing, Floor 13, Room 4 – Very Late Night.

We open on a shot of the living space in one of the many shared housing units. It's dark in the messy room, with a couple of red jackets tossed onto the backs of chairs. Nearby, soft snores are audible.

In frame is a small, wooden creature, his giant eyes squinting with concentration as he stares at the screen. An old, beat-up mp3 player and a Sony Walkman sit beside him on the coffee table. The little creature mumbles a tiny, irritated— ]

I am Groot?

[ —in the same tone of voice someone else might use to ask, “How the hell do you work this thing?” He pokes at the screen fruitlessly for a while, but soon enough, his eyes light up as he shoves his hand forward one last time.

Suddenly, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by the illustrious AC/DC shrieks over stereo speakers.

DONE. DIRT. CHEAP.

Sorry about your beauty sleep, Floor 13. And probably Floors 12 and 14.

The sapling yelps, scrambling and panicking to figure out how to stop this crazy thing, just as a sleep-tousled Star-Lord stumbles into frame, flicking on a light. Barely audible over the music, ]

Groot, what are you—?

[ Busted.

Peter picks up the device, sees that it’s recording, and he grimaces. ]

Oh, son of a—

[ Which is when the feed and the music both cut out. ]

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[Well...that was entertaining. Never mind the fact that Rey is staying up late, but she can't sleep and trying to stay healthy in all this mess.

The tiny plant thing is cute, but what catches her attention is his language...or maybe lack there of.]

You're not a wookie, that's for sure. [More muttered to herself than anything.]

What were you listening to?

[ In response to the message, Peter flicks the camera on again. He’s still looking sleepy as hell, and Groot sits at his elbow on the coffee table, fuming in time out. ]

He was listening to AC/DC. Or was trying to, anyway.

[ Listen, Peter’s not going to fault the kid for having good taste. On the other hand— ]

But he should have waited till morning. Isn’t that right, Groot?

[ The small tree – Groot, apparently – makes a sour expression before throwing out an, ] I am Groot.

[ Which apparently means, Yes, sir, or something like it, judging by the slight nod Peter offers in response. ]

[In hindsight, the conversation is probably better suited for the morning, but...Rey's curiosity gets the better of her.]

I haven't heard of them. Or at least, I don't think I have.

[Working with Jim, she's heard him play a few things, but never paid too much attention to it. It was more like background noise.

And there's a small chuckle coming from her, poor thing looks like he's in a time out.]

Sure he didn't mean too much harm by it.

[A beat.]

I take it you're his--Groot's caretaker?

His guardian, yeah.

[ It's the term with the least amount of baggage, and, honestly, it's the most on brand, too. Even still, Peter fidgets a little when he says it, because it apparently hasn't occurred to him until tonight to put a label to it. ]

He's part of my team from back home.

[ what sort of team employs the assistance of a toddler-esque tree entity, you ask?

A deeply irresponsible one. Obviously. ]

[Guardian....well, that brings several things to mind. It makes Rey wonder how long ago this man became Groot's guardian--or adopted him, but that isn't any of her business.

But what is interesting is how a young little tree....thing, is part of a team. It's enough to make Rey look confused and concerned all at once.]

Your team employs children to help them?

[That....doesn't sound right.

At. All.]

Sort of?

[ Peter frowns at Groot, who's still pouting. In all likelihood, the kid has forgotten why he's so annoyed and is keeping up the act for the principle of the thing. ]

He, um. Used to be a lot bigger than this. And he didn't really have anywhere else to go except with us, so...

Bigger as in size or in age? He's a child.

[Spoken simply, with Rey still trying to figure out what exactly Groot was, and how young.]

And why you would endanger children? Does he owe some sort of debt to you?

[That is inherently wrong. Did she have to spell that out?]

[ Yeah. This is complicated, and Peter sighs, scrubbing at his face. ]

No. If anything, I owe a debt to him.

[ Groot, apparently, has his interest piqued, and while he hasn't turned to look at Peter, he's very obviously listening.

And man, is it too late/early to go explaining his life story. In a different moment, Peter might have made a face and said he didn't need to explain himself to a total stranger before cutting the line, but apparently he's too tired at the moment to realize this is an option.

(Which isn't to say he won't later, if it gets to that point, but for now, this is what he offers: )]

Okay, so, like. This is gonna get weird. He was— bigger. Older. More mature, I guess. But that wasn't him, it was another him, I guess? Like, his predecessor. His dad? Sort of.

[ ... Peter has literally never explained this aloud. Is it obvious? ]

So his— previous self, I guess, died protecting us. The team, I mean. And we raised this Groot from his remains. We've been looking after him ever since. He's young, yeah, but he ages rapidly, and he's learning.

And, yeah, it's risky and potentially stupid to bring him along while he's like this, but we all know he's vulnerable, so we keep an eye on him and protect him. But it's not like he's defenseless. Hell, I'm pretty sure he's more useful than I am. [ don't tell the others. ] So he protects us as much as we protect him.

We're a family that fights bad guys, and he's relearning the ropes, is what I'm getting at.

[Well, that was more detailed than Rey expected this early in the morning...or late in the evening, however anyone wanted to look at it. The concern in her gaze levels out, especially when he mentions that they're a family.

That, she can understand...]

Sounds like you're more of his parent than guardian.

[There is a difference between the two, she knows from first hand experience. A parent means they care whereas guardian....they really didn't care if you lived or died.]

Not many people would've taken someone as young as him in, or do any of those other things.

[She's speaking from experience on this.]

And, it's not the strangest thing I've ever heard.

[ oh god no "parent" has so much baggage associated with it, and Peter visibly falters at the term.

(Peter and fathers, biological or otherwise, don't seem to mix.)

He rubs at the back of his neck, apparently made uncomfortable by the claim, but he's not going to say that. ]

I mean, he's just one of us, you know? It's not like we were ever gonna just leave him behind.

[Oops. Rey didn't mean to make him falter, or feel uncomfortable. She thought the term fit better given the situation, but in hindsight she probably shouldn't have said anything.

Okay...she has to choose her words carefully, but that's hard to do on lack of sleep. However, she is stubborn. Very stubborn.]

But that's the thing--you made the decision not to leave him behind. It could've been easier to do that, or you could've kept him and not taken care of him.

[Wait, no, getting too personal there. Have to reign it back.]

So maybe Care Taker fits best in this situation.

[ That seems like an odd sticking point, and for a second, Peter examines her, expression slightly thoughtful.

Peter's pretty good at reading people, a lot of the time, or at least that's what he likes to think. And he's pretty good at noting when a topic starts veering into something sensitive, something too close to home. So when she seems to change the topic, Peter lets her – but he still takes a mental note. ]

Yeah, maybe. [ He keeps his tone light. ] I guess we never really thought about putting a label to it? I mean, we just look out for each other, and it works.

[ ... most of the time. ]

[Rey tries to keep her expression neutral considering she revealed a bit far more than she intended. Not that she was ashamed of it or anything, but she didn't like to share those parts of her past from the get go.]

But you seemed to like 'Guardian' better.

[So is there a reason for it, or did no one think of any labels until this point?]

[ That's a much easier question to answer, and Peter can't quite keep the smile from his face. ]

The team we're on? We're called the Guardians of the Galaxy, so, you know. It seemed pretty appropriate. Kinda in line with our brand.

[That....makes Rey pause for a moment. There's a hint of confusion on her face. So...was his team made of people who were like Jedi's? Trying to protect the galaxy and serving a greater role?

But then why would he worry about his "brand"?]

So, you protect the whole galaxy then? From outside forces or do you stop people from taking it over?

[A beat.]

And where does your power come from?

[If they use the Force....it opened up a realm of possibilities.]

— “power”?

[ he echoes it back with a hint of confusion, but it clicks that she probably means, like, super powers. Flight or laser eye beams or junk like that. Comic book stuff. ]

We don’t really have—

[ But he cuts himself off, because, well, technically, Peter has powers, but that’s a recent development. He and Gamora are pretty sure, by now, that him having abilities is a quirk of Riverview. Some kind of fluctuation of the portal that gave him an echo of the powers he had had on his father’s planet.

... it’s complicated. And as far as Peter’s concerned, it doesn’t count, because he doesn’t use it. It’s why he completes the thought with a little more certainty: ]

We don’t really have “powers,” per se.

But, yeah. Mostly we stop folks from trying to destroy life as we know it, which usually means we stop assholes trying to dominate the galaxy. And we sometimes thwart the occasional multi-dimensional being trying to wreck a planet.

So a bit of both?

[ And he says it conversationally. “All in a day’s work.” ]

[Yes, power. If they derive it from something like the Force or ...from some deity? Nothing from a comic book--though, Rey wouldn't know the difference as she's never read a comic book.

It doesn't show on her face, but she is a bit disappointed to learn they didn't really have powers--not in the way that she does, or that Kylo Ren does. However, they still protect the galaxy, so they have that in common. Though, she wouldn't say that right off the bat considering she was still learning and had so much training to do.]

But, you said something about a brand--your brand? The brand of the Guardians? [She's starting to connect a dot or two, her mind is usually faster when she's had more sleep.]

There isn't anything like that in my world--I mean, there was but...that was a long time ago.

Oh, uh.

[ He looks a little sheepish. ]

The "brand" thing was a joke.

[ ... kind of. He's seen a few stray pieces of merchandise. Photos and paraphernalia that absolutely were not approved, nor did the Guardians agree to having their likenesses sold on T-shirts or posters or what have you, but still. Kinda neat.

But explaining a joke makes is 100% not funny, which is why Peter moves on: ]

What happened to the ones in your world?

[Normally, she would have a sense of humor, but Rey was taking the whole thing seriously.

Now it's her turn to look sheepish.]

...Sorry.

[She's more lively with enough sleep. Though, she wouldn't have known about his group being on t-shirts and other things.

As for the ones that happened in her world...there's a pause as she tries to sum it all up.]

They were all killed, and the last one died fighting against an enemy who wanted to take over the galaxy.

Oh.

[ And the word is startled out of him, rather than purposely said, and he winces.

He wasn't sure what answer he was expecting — maybe early retirement? maybe that there wasn't a need for them, and they scattered to the winds? – but he really should've seen "killed in the line of duty" coming. ]

I'm... sorry to hear that.

[There was a half shrug from her shoulders before she looked down again.]

It's...it's okay. There are other means to stop people from taking over--there's a Resistance that's formed. Balance needs to be brought back to the galaxy, and we'll figure out a way to do that.

[Even though two of the major players in that battle were already here: Kylo Ren and Hux. But no need to get into that...not yet.]

In my world they were called Jedi...and they were more of like a myth or legend, until I met the last one.

[ He goes still, eyes widening for a second, expression freezing in something stunned and amused. He's expecting a joke, obviously, and he waits for her to say something like, "ha ha, just kidding, of course they weren't actually Jedi."

But she looks— totally earnest. And Peter thinks he's pretty decent at reading people, and he doesn't see the usual tells tat signal she's lying or joking.

... oh fuck is she serious.

... oh fuck is she from a world where Jedi are real. That's awesome. Well, maybe not awesome, considering there was apparently only one left, so—

Keep it cool, Star-Lord.

He clears his throat, looking a little sheepish. ]

Sorry. I, uh. I think I heard a similar myths, when I was a kid. I always thought they were just stories, you know? Fairy tales.

You met one, though?

[Nope. No jokes. No teasing. No nothing. The war of the stars is her life.

Rey doesn't initially pick up on his hesitance as him think it's a joke. Rather, she thinks he's trying to process because, its a different world and different culture and verbiage...

And she's also trying not to rub her eyes.]

You have? [Well, that's the first she's heard of it. People who aren't from her world don't believe in the Jedi, think they're long gone or....both? He's not from her world, she would've remembered hearing about the 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.]

Yes...met him... [And trained with him, but no need to go into that much detail yet.]

And...I wish I could've had more time to learn from him.

[ ... oh, crap.

When she said "met the last Jedi," she really meant met, apparently. Because the look on her face doesn't seem like a, "Man, I could've talked all day with that guy," kind of look. It seems a lot more like a, "he was taken too soon," look.

Peter takes a quick breath (something almost like a hiss), and he winces a little, contrite. ]

I'm really sorry. [ Again. He just keeps bringing up the wrong topics, doesn't he? ]

[It's okay. She's made peace with it. Luke became one with the Force. He still helped the Resistance. He trained her as best as he could....and tried to help his nephew, tried to reach out.

And to be fair, Rey did bring up 'parents' and other care taker labels...so they could be even at this point.]

It's okay....it's fine. He was at peace when he passed--which was the complete opposite when we first met.

[He was.....a pain, a grouch--and an ass at times, but he was a hermit. He was ready to simply die and take the traditions and knowledge of the Jedi with him...

And maybe it was time to change the subject.]

Your little friend, is he still in trouble?

video: @scavenger.rey

video; @star-lord

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lmk if this is too fourth-wall-y and i can edit!

Nope it's fine!

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