S T A R L O R D

“Yondwho?” She asked, not really that intrigued. “Of course it’s not. I have an eidetic memory. I just like your face when people get it wrong.”

“Yondu.” he repeated. “Threatened to eat me a few times but turned out alright in the end.” Peter laughed. “It’s an important name for me.” 

“I don’t know what you could have done. I did everything I could to release Vision before Thanos could kill him, but he just undid it. If you had been there, you may have been forced to watch him hurt her. Trust me, you don’t want to see it even if you think you do.”

Peter just shook his head. “Maybe not, but she wouldn’t have been alone.” It was never about him. Quill would’ve fought like hell to save her, but even if Thanos would’ve won out in the end, he could’ve at least been there.

“Marketing is more a pledge loyalty until you die than anything else. Or, at least it was where I was.”

“That’s not too far off. Just invokes a sense of patriotism, you know?”

“Here am I.” Lana repeated. “Life’s a @#$@#, huh?”

“And then you die.” Quill shrugged. “And then sometimes you come back.” 

“Have you considered eating your weight in ice cream before?”

“I’ve attempted it. First time I made it back to Earth I ate so much Rocky Road I almost puked.” 

“Probably because it’s super easy to hate. Is that too easy an excuse?”

“More like their names suck and it’s easier to hate than admit they’re not witty.” 

“Okay, dude. You @#$@# win. Congrats on not being alien food.”

“Yeah I still don’t know how I managed to get out of that one.” 

“I’d ask how it happened, but I know that it would go straight over my head. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess. How are you guys adjusting?”

How were they adjusting? Quill chewed the inside of his cheek a moment before responding. “I think she’s happy. To have them. It had to have been weird as hell to walk around with memories from 2014 and yet everyone knows you differently. I can’t imagine how alone she felt.” 

“What stopped you from doing so?”

“Lots of things. Money, adventure, love.” 

“I go out, get beat up and then return my child. We do the night time routine: bath, song, story. I drink half a glass of wine and then go to bed. Then we start again.”

Peter couldn’t help his laugh. “Sounds like the life. Doesn’t sound like it’d be a good fit for me though.” 

“Yeah, telepaths get that a lot.” The chuckle that left her lips was awkward. “Have you been feeling any better?”

The smile he gave shared in her awkwardness. “I have no reason not to. World’s still spinning, Gamora seems happy, the rest of my team is in one piece. I’d be stupid not to be happy.” 

“Much to my chagrin. There have been times I wish I didn’t. I can honestly say that much. People get under your skin. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Much to your chagrin?” he tried to mask his confusion. This was Emma after all. “Sometimes being uncomfortable is the whole point.” 

“No, but I think he was better in mine. There was a second where I thought he loved me.” And she had loved him too, even if she didn’t admit to it.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that about him. He seemed pretty focused on destroy the world.” 

“I’m not a Negative Nancy. Although, I don’t know who Nancy is.” Good ol’ Inhuman lapses in popular culture. “I’ve always wanted the best for my people and thought we could find our place in the world. I just forgot about that for awhile.”

He simply canted his head at her comment, moving on. “Can’t forget to do what’s best for you too.” 

“I was being polite. I had no interest in having to fight him. Is he always like that?”

“Eh. Mostly. It’s endearing if you can get past it.” 

“What he does is great and I totally support him. You’re right though. It’s just one, big messed up situation. I love to problem solve and here I just… can’t. It’s driving me crazy.”

“He’s just gonna have to get through it. I wish there was another way, but there’s not.” 

“Give me your best and worst song on it then. I used to drum back home and I’ve missed it ever since I came over here more permanently.” 

“Best and worst? I don’t have a worst.” he was smiling. “If you’re interested in some classic tunes I could get a tape for you.”