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Gamora:
Among others, Saal appears like an ice planet, hostile and void of life. He hovers dark and foreboding, wearing his Nova Corps uniform like a second skin.
She sees how he surrounds himself with an invisible aura where no one dares to tread.
His personal space is forbidden territory and yet Peter Quill slips undeterred into it and finds his place next to him like it's the most natural thing in the universe.
Gamora remembers when she first met Saal, she had seen haughty expression like his before and taken great joy in wiping them off.
Now she is stunned by the warmth in his eyes whenever he looks at Peter, how fiercely protective he is of the thief and how beautiful his laugh sounds.
Peter Quill is rarely still. He's constantly twitching, talking or scheming.
He laughs, teases and prods at the ever patient Saal and their sanities at times.
Maybe that is why Gamora finds it so fascinating at how still he goes whenever the soldier touches him. During his erratic rants, it usually only takes for Saal to slide a gentle hand behind Peter's neck and a couple of caresses for him to calm down.
A nervously bouncing knee goes quiet when Peter can gain his partner's attention.
Peter Quill has a deep sadness in him. He hides it well, but Gamora can see it from time to time.
His eyes are mirrors of unspoken loss and sorrow, yet she feels a little better when she sees him seek out Saal and the soothing calm in the unconditional love there.
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Drax:
After losing his family, the only thing that mattered to Drax was taking the life of the man responsible. That, and creating as much destruction as possible for the cretin along the way.
Lawmen were nothing to him, a mild annoyance in his path, so Denarian Saal did not interest him.
Peter Quill, the murderess, the tree and the rodent, however, they were his friends. So when Peter Quill grew interested in the lawman, Drax figured he would allow it as long as it didn't interfere with their mission to find Thanos and his revenge.
Once onboard, Denarian Saal turned out to be less annoying than he thought he'd be.
But discovering how strong the lawman is, feeling the unnatural energy underneath his skin, Drax worries for a moment that they had made a terrible mistake and has allowed a monster on their ship.
He watches and tests Denarian Saal before deciding that the man can be trusted. A worthy partner for their leader.
Denarian Saal might be the only honorable fool on the Milano.
Peter Quill, on the other hand, has no honor.
Drax once stated that the Terran was an imbecile and he still stands by that. (Peter Quill is his friend so Drax gets to call him that. No one else)
Yet there is something about him that unites this unlikely crew and it is a mystery to him what that is.
It just is.
Peter Quill is loud, speaks in odd ways that Drax don't quite understand and he feels like punching him on a daily basis, but he knows the Terran wouldn't hesitate to give his life for Drax.
When Peter Quill and Denarian Saal are around each other, it awakens memories.
It is such a bittersweet pain to watch Peter Quill with his lawman.
It reminds Drax so very much about what he'd lost.
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Rocket:
Lawmen are idiots. Do-gooders which only get in the way of Rocket making decent amounts of units!
They look at him like he's a freak and resentment burns at the back of his throat.
He might have met Saal a dozen times before, he can't remember, lawmen all look the same to him, but Rocket can't deny the thrill when he calls out an order to Saal during the fight against Ronon and the man placed his trust in his skills and obeys. No one but Groot had ever done that before.
That made it all so much worse when Saal called out for help and Rocket couldn't do a damn thing.
Regret doesn't undo anything, regret is pointless, Rocket learned that early in life, yet there would come times after the battle when he'd still hear the echo of that call for help...
Leaving Xandar with his best friend regenerating in front of his eyes, Rocket clung to Groot and felt sick with relief at the second chance and that he hadn't failed everyone.
When they heard Saal had survived but was slowly killing himself, Rocket knew he wouldn't fail to help him this time.
Rocket had considered Peter Quill as nothing more than a damn good payday! He tried really hard to keep it that way, but stuff happened.
He blames Groot. That stupid tree always had a weak spot for weirdos.
Suddenly they were suckered into this ragtag team of losers, in every meaning of the word, and for some odd reason; Rocket doesn't hate it.
Sure, Peter is a party pooper when it came to bombs and other fun stuff, but he is occasionally hilarious and can come up with 12% of a decent plan when pressed.
Rocket carries with him his scars and bad memories. It doesn't take long before he realizes that Peter does too.
He almost rubs his paws together with an evil cackle when he sees the budding relationship between the criminal and the uptight lawman.
Perfect!
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Groot:
I am Groot.
I am Groot.
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