Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The last Peter Quill saw of Adam Warlock before accepting that mission from Shuri, he was among the other Guardians in Knowhere. Now, he stands before Quill on Klyntar with the company of Rocket, Groot, and a new ally, Venom. While Rocket was busy lecturing Peter about crashing his—well, technically Peter's—ship, Adam could only focus on Peter. Uncaring of the slightly unfamiliar tone of his voice or the subtle difference in the way his hair was parted, Adam watched Peter with fondness. Yet, the more he watched, the more he noticed. Peter’s skin sat differently on his face, his eyes were growing more foreign, he was distorting into someone else entirely, and Adam didn’t know who. Peter’s soul was unfamiliar, and Adam could feel it. Adam could hear it, he heard Peter’s soul screaming at him, telling him it wasn’t his.

Adam opened his eyes to see the walls of the Milano. It wasn’t a dream, since he didn’t sleep, it was just Adam, once again overthinking during meditation. He scolded himself under his breath. The gem in his head gave him a headache at that moment.

“‘Morning Goldie, sleep good?” Rocket spoke behind him. Adam got up off the ground of Drax’s room, not bothering to correct Rocket’s grammar. He’d been using Drax’s room since he found the Guardians again during the timestream entanglement. He didn’t really need a room, but he did appreciate the privacy. 

“I don’t require sleep, but my time wasn’t unpleasant,” Adam lied. He knew Rocket didn’t care much.

Rocket paused in doubt. “Yeah, well, we got something,” he responded as he walked out of Adam’s room. The Guardians had been looking for their other members ever since the timestream entanglement started. They haven’t had a single clue as to where they could be until now.

Adam joined Rocket in the flight deck of the Milano, and they were greeted by Mantis, Groot, and Peter. Stood by the half-alien’s side, Adam looked to him with a curious expression.

“We programmed the system to detect specific disturbances in the galaxy that could be the timestream entanglement—which does mean we’ve been getting a lot of pings—but, this time I think it might be them,” Peter explained as Mantis stepped in.

“It’s a bigger ping than we’ve gotten before, so if it’s not them, it's something else, and we must stay vigilant.”

Rocket sat down in his seat. “Alright, so now what? We jump to the planet and dive in to save some pretty princesses, that it? ‘Cause I very much wanna kill somethin’ today.”

“I am Groot.” 

“I know, Groot, I wanna save ‘em too… But, I would also like to kill things.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Strap in Guardians, this could get ugly.”

The planet they landed on gave the guardians an unsettling dystopian feeling. In this universe, somehow, many Kree worlds such as the one they stood on, had been completely rid of life. They stepped onto the eerily empty world of Kree-Pama expectantly. 

“Are you sure you landed on the right planet, Pete?” Rocket asked.

“I did! I checked.”

Adam stepped out of the Milano last. “Be wary, this planet is no longer familiar to us.”

Despite Adam’s warning, it didn’t take long until they were under attack. Though, the strangest part was, they were under attack courtesy of the Badoon. Peter cursed under his breath as he swiftly pulled out his element guns and began to fight back. 

“Where the flark did the Badoon crawl out of?!” Rocket yelled out as he shot one of the Badoon soldiers from behind Peter. A burst of cosmic energy knocked down a Badoon soldier that was headed for Mantis, though she was too busy stunning two other soldiers to notice.

With the help of Rocket and Groot, Peter successfully took down four other soldiers. “No clue, just keep shooting!” 

Adam’s staff shot two more soldiers while Peter dodged projectiles with the help of his jet boots. Vines pierced through the rest of the Badoon as the Guardians put away their weapons. Peter held back a sigh of relief and instead glanced at Mantis for clarification. “Don’t fret, that was most definitely the last of them.” Like opening up a dam, relief washed over the team. Though they still had room to worry and more questions than questions answered. 

“So… why the Badoon? And why here?”

Rocket tweaked with the monitors in the flight deck. “Well, we gots a big signal,” he turned to face Peter, “we gots a problem with the timeline stuffs.” There was an awkward silence. If that signal was completely unrelated to them, it could be near impossible to find the rest of the team again. They all knew that.

“We'll find them,” Adam said with a distant expression, “we have to.”

The team looked around at each other after Adam walked off. They shared glances as if they were all asking “alright who's going after him” to each other. Luckily they didn't need to ask. “I'll get him.” Peter said with a sigh.

Adam was sitting on the couch in the common area. He looked down at the floor in thought. Peter walked over to the armrest of the couch to talk. Adam simply sighed. “Sorry Peter. I just—we just need to focus on finding Gamora and Drax and halt these worrying thoughts. It’s unnecessary.”

“I know, Adam,” Peter said with unease, “We can’t help it, y’know.”

A minute of awkward silence took over the room. Peter knew there was something Adam wasn’t telling him. Dealing with the emotions of the team is the hardest part about being a leader, Peter thought. 

“Is this about Gamora?”

“What?”

Peter was then unsure, but he already said it so why not just ask. “Y’know. You guys had a thing or whatever. Before the Guardians, even.”

Adam paused in shock. “What? Of course not, that was a long time ago. I don’t yearn over a lost love as long as you do, Peter Quill.” 

“Hey, don’t bring Kitty into this! I’m just saying, you seem more hung up about this than everyone else.”

Adam looked up at him with questioning eyes. “Are you jealous, Peter?”

Peter looked at Adam with unmatched confusion. He stood there for a while, just considering it. “I—that’s not—no? Why would I be?” 

Adam tilted his head in curiosity. He had an amused look on his face from teasing Peter. He scolded himself for the distraction. “We—”

“Pete, Adam, ‘nother signal,” Rocket interrupted, peeking his head out from the staircase leading up to the flight deck. Peter sighed with relief and headed up. 

“C’mon Adam, this could be it,” Peter called out as he climbed the stairs. Adam hesitated, he wondered when he and Peter would ever get time to themselves again. He got up and walked towards the stairs.

“Same planet? It’s probably just more of the Badoon.” Peter said.

Mantis looked back at him from her seat. “I know, it’s fairly suspicious. However, that's all we have currently.”

“Flark that, I don’t feel like fightin’ the Badoon no more!”

“I am Groot?”

“Yeah, I did say that. Don’t mean the Badoon ain’t annoying.”

As they all walked back out on Kree-Pama they could hear fighting from a distance. “Is there someone here other than the Badoon?” Peter wondered aloud. 

Adam gestured to the fight in the distance, which was seemingly growing closer to them. “I believe your question will be answered sooner than you think.”

“Well, waiting ain't gonna do scut,” Rocket said before running straight into the fight. The Guardians followed.

Peter closed up his mask and charged into the fight, gesturing to the team to attack the Badoon from the back. Rocket crawled on top of Groot to scope things out, seeing only one person fighting the Badoon, which wasn’t as impressive when he realized they were losing. Mantis swept two soldiers as Peter shot them down. Groot grabbed two with his branches and threw them at two others. Rocket was on his shoulder shooting at the rest. While Adam took down three Badoon soldiers, he caught a glimpse of who was fighting the Badoon alone. He paused in shock, giving one of the soldiers an opening to take him down. Its scaly hands gripped Adam's throat as his arm extended out for his staff, which was knocked only a few inches out of his reach. Adam kicked off the soldier and rolled over to his staff, then shooting cosmic rays at the reptilian soldier. Adam dusted himself off and watched the woman kill the rest of the Badoon.

Gamora caught her breath for a minute. “Where have you guys been, could've used that help a couple hundred clicks ago.”

Chapter Text

Gamora sat on her bed in her apartment sharpening her sword. It had been a few days since Peter, Rocket, and Groot had gone off on a mission given to them by the princess of Wakanda and she was getting impatient. Half of the team has gone missing right from their apartments and she couldn’t do anything about it because apparently Cosmo can't find their trackers. Gamora sighed as she got up off her bed with an idea in mind.

It took barely three knocks on Drax’s door for him to answer. Clearly they were both itching for a solution. 

Gamora crossed her arms. “Time to do our job,” she said, which earned her an awkward pause.

“I am not sure if you have noticed or not, but our companions are missing and the dog is not on our side.” Drax stated with his usual sternness.

Gamora sighed. “Yeah, well, that's why we're doing it behind his back.”

They decided to scope things out on Knowhere, the Guardians couldn’t have been the only ones affected by this. It sadly wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Everyone on Knowhere was a bit shady, even with their reputation. But they knew Knowhere, and they knew it enough to know what kind of shady they’re looking for. Gamora gestured to a hooded man holding a stack of posters. As they approached him, he noticed and stiffened.

“Greetings sir, my coworker and I have some—” Drax started before Gamora interrupted.

“What’s this?” She said, half unfolding her arms to point at the stack of papers. The man sprung up as if that was his cue to start his sales pitch.

“Glad the Guardians of the Galaxy would be the ones to ask. My friend went missing just the other day—like, out of thin air missing—and I think I have a lead but…” He rambled on, trailing off. The sentence seemed rehearsed, but neither of the remaining Guardians cared. 

“What else do you have to say?” Drax spoke.

“I’m not sure if I should tell you,” The man said, “I mean, this is probably better for the proper authorities to handle…”

Gamora was fed up. “Alright fine, what’s your price?”

“500 units.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“That is a ridiculous price for a few words.”

“600…” The man annoyingly pushed.

“Fine! Fine… In fact,” Gamora mumbled, reaching into her pockets, “Here’s a crisp thousand for your troubles,” She said sarcastically as she handed him the spare counterfeit units she had in her pockets. She planned to hopefully scam something better out of those. Too bad.

The hooded man grabbed the units swiftly. “Sweet, alright. Well, I found a scale in my friend's room earlier and I think it’s Badoon.”

“This better not be a prank, scutbag.”

“It’s not! I swear! Y’know, I think the Badoon is keeping them on Moord.”

“That was an obvious scam you have just fallen for, are you sure you are qualified enough to be in your own occupation?”

“I know, Drax. Plus this is hardly an occupation, we rarely get paid anyways.” 

“Fair point,” Drax responded as they made their way to the Continuum Cortex. “However, that does not resolve the fact that we have been deceived.”

“I don’t care, this is the only lead we’ve got.”

They reached the Cortex, yet there was only one thing in their way, Cosmo.

“What Guardians doing in Continuum Cortex?”

“Saving our friends,” Gamora responded, “We have a lead, let us through.”

“Nyet, tell Cosmo new lead first.”

“Moord, someone suspects the Badoon is behind this.” 

Cosmo sighs, “Hmm, come.”

Gamora and Drax gathered their supplies as Cosmo input the coordinates. They needed to be prepared for a fight if they were going to save the galaxy again. Drax put his knives in his boots while he and Gamora headed back down to the Continuum Cortex. Cosmo sat near the control panel awaiting their arrival. The screen read Moord and Gamora nodded to Cosmo.  “Guardians will be careful now, da?” Cosmo reassured.

“Can’t make any promises.”

Blood spilled from Gamora’s new fresh wound on her arm as she narrowly dodged a Badoon brotherhood soldiers attack. At least they prepared for an ambush, Gamora thought. Though, at first she had seen way more of the Badoon than this. Gamora and Drax managed to take down three of them before the rest had seemingly ran away. It was strange, as if they’d disappeared out of thin air. Which was probably a clue, now that she had thought about it. But right then, they were just lucky to be alive. It’s not like they had a leader anymore. “I told you it was a deception,” Drax said, “All the man wanted was money, his greed brought us to our doom.”

Gamora scoped out the area “Stop being pessimistic Drax, the units I gave the guy weren’t even real.” That made Drax stop in place. “I wasn't gonna use them for anything terrible, okay?” Gamora lied.

Drax continued walking with her. “Was it not a thousand units you gave the boy?” 

“Can we not talk about this right now? Just… just stop interrogating me.”

“I am not interrogating you. I am simply asking questions.”

“Yeah, okay, sure.” A twig snapped near them. “Wait.” 

Gamora was crouched behind a bush with Drax crouched right beside her. It wasn't a great hiding spot but it was all they had. Chatter from the Badoon rose as the group of them had gotten closer. Gamora and Drax unsheathed their weapons. They were lucky enough that the Badoon was never really a top tier fight. They waited for the group to move closer for them to strike. When they did, Gamora realized there weren't just a couple of them.

Gamora sliced through a soldier with the Godslayer while Drax tackled another with his knives. They had significantly more difficulty. Drax yelled out, “I believe we are severely outnumbered!” 

Gamora took down another two soldiers. “I realized that!” She was nearly overwhelmed by some other Badoon soldiers before taking them out. By the time she had killed at least three more, she noticed it got darker, significantly darker. Gamora sighed and spoke under her breath, “I wish Peter were here.”

Gamora heard gunfire in the distance, which was slightly alarming given it was followed by sounds of the Badoon getting hurt. It's not like she was complaining, though. She fought through six more soldiers at the end. Relief washed over her when she saw the faces of the rest of her team.

“Then, y'know, found you guys.” Gamora finished explaining. She sat on the couch in the common area with the Guardians. Drax was still missing, but now they had hope. 

“So Drax is on Moord in another universe,” Peter clarified, “fighting a not-so-nice group of Badoon alone?”

“Yeah…”

“I hope he will be okay…” Mantis worried.

“If you were on Moord, why would you have come to this universe on Kree-Pama?” Adam questioned.

Gamora sighed. “Don't ask me. I have no idea.” They all paused at that.

“Well, whatever happens, Drax’ll be fine. He’s tough enough to kill the ol’ purple flarker, he can make it through Moord,” Rocket spoke up to ease the room. They all simply nodded in uncertainty.

Gamora stood in the bathroom cleaning up her wounds from the battle. Once finished, she sighed and made her way towards her room. However, there was someone standing in the way of her exiting the bathroom, Adam. Gamora jumped in shock, Adam did this a lot, he had the tendency to never knock and only stand in front of the door till let in. It’s not very productive, luckily he only does it when his “desired conversation is of no importance” or something like that. Gamora could never understand him, less now but even back then when she really knew him. Hopefully somebody would, Gamora thought. 

“You scared the scut outta me Adam!”

“My apologies…” Adam looked to the side. He almost seemed embarrassed. Gamora doubted it.

“What’s up,” Gamora asked, “What do you need?”

“I know you said I shouldn’t confide in you for my own personal relationship inquiries,” Adam started, “However…”

Gamora groaned, “Fine, what happened?”

“Nothing necessarily ‘happened’, it’s just that… Peter is acting distant. Too distant.”

Gamora paused in thought. It was unlike Peter to get distant with Adam. Well, he has been mad at Adam before and given him the silent treatment, but Adam didn’t do anything wrong. Not that he has before. Even the stress of the situation was unlikely to drive him away. “Let’s talk about this in my room while I get settled—er, re-settled in.” Adam gave a slight nod at that.

Peter watched Adam and Gamora walk into her room together, not even being somewhat discreet. He was leaning on Rocket’s workbench while Rocket repaired his jetboots that got damaged a bit in battle.

“Can you believe this, Rocket?”

“Mhm.”

“It’s like they have no respect.”

“Yeah.”

“Like, at least tell us you're going off to get some action with each other. I’m the captain! The leader! I should know these things!” Peter rambled on at the side of the workbench. Rocket finally began to pay attention to what he was saying.

“Wait. What,” Rocket questioned in confusion, “What the scut are you babblin’ about?”

“Adam and Gamora, I—wait, have you not been listening?”

“Not really, I usually tune you out. Yer annoying.”

“Wow, okay I—y’know what. Whatever,” Peter begrudgingly gave up, “Adam and Gamora apparently decided to rekindle their love.”

“Okay? Why do you care so much?”

“What?” Peter embarrassingly realized how bad this was making him look. “No it’s—they didn’t tell me. Adam didn’t tell me he still felt that way about her, even when I asked him.” Peter sighed defeated. He thought about Adam and his previous conversation. Maybe he was simply apprehensive? Embarrassed? But that doesn’t sound like Adam. “Maybe I’m just exhausted.”

“Or jealous.”

“Yeah… what.”

“It’s obvious, Pete, don’t take a krutakin’ rocket scientist to figure it out, even though I am one.” Rocket suggested with a terrible pun and a chuckle. Hey, terrible puns are Peter’s thing!

Peter froze in thought. Why would he be jealous? He doesn’t have a thing with Gamora at all. Unless that wasn’t what Rocket was referring to. Peter’s friendship with Adam was definitely unconventional. It’s not like they were best friends (Rocket’s always Peter’s #1!), but it wasn’t like they were just basic friends either. They were nearly inseparable. The type of friend you could talk to about literally anything, yet you’d never consider them a brother. Then Peter realized. Maybe it was Adam. That was his “thing”. He and Adam had a thing. An indescribable, strange, homoerotic thing. It’s not like Peter’s attraction to men was a new thing. He’s always been aware of his identity. He just never really thought of Adam that way until now. Well, except for that one time, and the other one, and… okay so maybe he did think about Adam that way, he just chose to ignore it.

“Yeah, now you shut up.”

“Sorry, I—put the boots in my room when you’re done with them.” Peter walked off to his room to think about things.

“Wow, okay. Not even a ‘Thanks Rocket!’ or a ‘You’re the best at what you do Rocket!’? Flarkin’ scutbag…”

“Yeah, that’s… weird. Even for him.” Gamora responded to Adam’s troubles. They both sat in Gamora’s room having “girl talk” as Gamora calls it. Though Adam would say it’s an "inaccurate name as there is only one ‘girl’ present for this conversation”.

“I just wonder if I have done anything recently to upset him…”

“I really doubt that Adam, plus he’s still talking to you, isn’t he?”

“That is true.”

“Maybe he just needs space.”

“Then why wouldn’t he simply tell me? What is a relationship if not built on trust and communication?”

“You’re right. He’s a scutty boyfriend. I agree. But maybe if you’re concerned you should start that conversation?”

Adam sighed. “I didn’t say that. He’s a wonderful partner.” Gamora looked at him with a face that screams “ seriously ?” and he thought about it. “Alright. I will make an attempt to talk with him about it.”

“Attempt?”

“We don’t get time alone anymore.”

“Right…”

Chapter Text

The room was comfortably silent as Mantis and Adam sat together meditating. Ever since their first encounter with the Magus, Mantis suggested meditation to help and they’ve been meditating together ever since. Though, of course they occasionally meditate separately, they still enjoy each other’s presence. Mantis tends to avoid teeping Adam during this time, but even she can admit sometimes she gets nosy. And this time she was particularly nosy.

Adam had been feeling a sense of betrayal. Confused, confrontational, uneasy. Mantis was even more curious. She’s played the part of therapist many times before, for Gamora mostly, and sometimes for Peter as well. She’s fairly good at it. She’s just not sure that’s what Adam needs. Would he be angry at her for prying? Though she knew he was emotionally mature enough not to, she still wasn’t sure. Yet that never stopped her from being a good therapist. “I apologize for meddling, but I detect your distress. Are there any affairs you’d wish to discuss?”

This caught Adam off guard, she could tell, anyone could. He was likely surprised, given they’ve never really talked about these things often. “I suppose,” Adam spoke with slight discomfort, “we could address my plights.”

Mantis was satisfied by this. “Alright! What is making you so alert?”

Adam sighed. “It’s only petty relationship trouble, we will pass this roadblock as we have done many times.”

“All relationship troubles are important. What has happened between you two?”

“Peter is distant, I have yet to find out why.”

“You should ask him why.”

“Yes, that’s what Gamora said as well. I haven’t…” Adam paused hesitantly, considering, “I haven’t yet talked to him. I cannot seem to find the time.”

“Can you make the time?”

“He… He is often making excuses. Acting like he is busy, though I know he isn’t. None of us have been very busy since we found Gamora.”

“I assure you this will pass. He will open up sometime, I am sure of it.”

“You haven’t seen it, have you?”

Mantis paused. She has not had a precognition since the whole timestream entanglement situation started. No one knows why. “I… have not,” she admitted reluctantly, “I am sorry…”

“That’s alright Mantis. You are not your abilities.” Reassuring words such as those rarely reached Mantis. It warmed her heart knowing she wasn’t just useful to the team, but a part of this family. 

“Thank you.”

Peter’s mind has been clouded ever since they found Gamora. Which was like, a week. What makes him even more worried is that Adam’s definitely onto him. He’s been constantly bugging him and asking him to talk every day. Terrifying stuff. Of course Peter’s default response to this is flight not fight. He’s been putting off talking to Adam for a week now and it’s starting to get pathetic. But being pathetic is his best quality, at least that's what Rocket says. Obviously Peter protests but apparently that’s most of his charm, and if he was honest, Kitty often jokingly mentioned how pathetic he was too. Old memories with Kitty come to mind. Though, with time it’s become less bitter and more sweet. Of course, he’ll always miss her, but now he’s moved on. He’s okay now.

The Milano was no longer floating in space. They’ve parked for the time being. They already loaded up on supplies yesterday so today is just a rest day, which usually means bars and hangovers in the morning. Though, today really wasn’t the day for that. Half of the Guardians had been working to improve their matter disturbance sensors with a larger radius and more precise seeking. The few that weren’t currently working included Gamora, Groot, and Adam, which makes sense given none of them know much about that kind of technology. Peter decided he would use this time to slack off and think about his problems in life instead of being productive. 

Mantis wasn’t particularly skilled with technology, however she was logical and often worked with the team to fix the Milano. She was still very skilled with her hands. Mantis focused on testing the signal strength while the others worked on the code. Rocket was running a test with Mantis, which ultimately failed, while Peter was lost in thought. Rocket called out to Peter to switch something in the code and ended up pissed when he was inevitably ignored. Peter was thinking about Adam. Of course he was. He imagined what would happen once they actually did talk. He wondered what Adam wanted to talk about in the first place. He eventually came to the conclusion that they should have that talk.

“Pete! Wake up man we’re all workin’ without you,” Rocket yelled at Peter. 

Peter snapped his head towards Rocket and Mantis who were both looking at him expectantly. “My bad, what did you need me to do again?”

“Oh for the love of—Pete, when's the last time you've actually stayed in this universe for longer than a minute?”

“Excuse me?”

“I believe,” Mantis attempted to de-escalate the situation, “he meant you have been losing your focus recently. Perhaps you should rest?” Mantis subtly hinted towards meeting with Adam. She could sense his emotional turmoil. She thought, maybe, a nice conversation with Adam could soothe his conscience. It was clear they were both troubled by this situation.

Peter paused. He continued to worry about their possible conversation. But once it’s over, it’s over. “Alright,” he surrendered, “promise I’ll be more useful to ya later, Rocket.”

“Yep, you owe me Pete.” To that Peter rolled his eyes and got up to leave the flight deck. Mantis gave him an encouraging smile and thumbs up as he walked out the room. Though Rocket gave her a confused glance before returning to work, now having to man all the technology.

Chatter echoed nearby the dock the Milano sat on. It was soothing to know not all planets were uninhabited. Gamora and Groot were currently lounging in their quarters, probably mulling over their situation. Though, Adam’s mind was somewhere else entirely. He watched the distant stars and galaxies in the sky, there wasn’t much of an atmosphere on these smaller planets. The skyline was littered with orange and green from the vast distance. Planets lightyears away visible within the night. This one’s cycles were long, giving Adam a long time to study space. Adam always faced eternity like this. His strange version of immortality to his long lasting feelings. The sort of constant feeling of emptiness you get when you remember a past mistake. Those things are what shape most of Adam’s thoughts. Sometimes he wondered if Peter ever felt the same. He wasn’t as open about his emotions as Adam could be.

The space which he watched often distorted rapidly, possibly due to the timestream entanglement. It was sad to think that this universe seemed to be so fragile, collecting souvenirs from other universes. It was worse to think of the possible impending doom looming over the Guardians. Adam was nonetheless optimistic. Hoping maybe somehow some way they’d save this universe as well as any others that may be breaking in a similar fashion.

The entrance to the Milano opened up as Peter rushed out as if he’d been running in a maze. He panted as he looked around with a clear objective. When he finally spotted Adam he swallowed and began to approach. Though hesitant, he spoke, “Adam, I thought you’d be in your uh, your room.” Peter was clearly anxious. His eyes searched aimlessly, but never landed on Adam.

“My apologies,” Adam sympathized, “I just wanted some fresh air.” The conversation halted as Peter hesitated again. Adam was content with waiting for Peter. He’d always wait for Peter. Waiting for him to be ready. He could tell it’d be soon.

Peter cleared his throat and decided, “So, what have you been wanting to talk to me about?”

Adam smiled slightly at that. “Right,” he started, “I’ve been wishing to communicate our dilemma together, is all.” Adam noticed Peter stiffen. “You’ve been… uncharacteristically avoidant recently. Is everything alright?” Adam questioned.

“Wh—I don’t—huh?” Peter stuttered dumbfoundedly. “I don’t understand—I mean, if anything we've been closer than ever recently. At least, when we have time to be…” 

Now, it was Adam’s turn to hesitate. “That isn't… Peter, you're mistaken,” Adam worried, “we don't have time to ourselves anymore, as if you're always busy though I know you really aren't.”

“What’s with this, Adam? I thought you were all happy with Gamora again?” Peter interrogated Adam. “Y'know, I really don't understand you sometimes. Honestly it hurts.”

“What.” Peter looked away, still leaning on the Milano with false confidence. “Peter, what do you mean? You know me and Gamora are simply close friends now I—” Adam started putting together the pieces. “Peter, are you still jealous?”

To that Peter flustered, though he continued the confrontation. “No, it's just,” he sighed and decided to avoid that, “why do you think I'm jealous?”

“Why wouldn't I?” Adam softly questioned.

“It's not like we're together.”

Adam paused in pure shock. Either Peter was being the biggest asshole right now or he just broke up with him, Adam thought. Nonetheless, Adam was hurt by this. He sighed and pushed past Peter to make his way towards his—Drax's—room. However, he was stopped. Of course he was.

Peter’s rough hand gripped Adam's harsh arms as he contemplated what to say. “What’s wrong?” Peter inquired. “Why are you mad at me man?”

Adam scoffed. “You can’t be serious, Peter.” Adam turned back around to face him, this time closer. He loomed over Peter only slightly due to their small height difference. “Slight jealousy should not be a reason to break my heart.”

“What?” Peter was red from their distance.

Adam sighed and backed off. “You are a very frustrating man, Peter Quill.” 

Peter was determined, though. “Adam I’m almost 100% sure we were never once together,” he reassured, “believe me. I don’t know where you got that idea but—”

“What?” Adam almost believed that was their new favorite word at that point. “We have explicitly discussed this, have we not?”

“Um, no? Not that I remember,” Peter replied, “seriously man, I don’t know where you’re getting this stuff.”

Adam looked over the facts in his mind. Peter suddenly had no recollection of their relationship. Not good. He’d been acting uncharacteristically recently. Also not good. Adam often noticed differences in his appearance after the entanglement, which was less noticed by the rest of the Guardians, Adam supposed. It was as if he was a completely different person. That’s when it hit him. This wasn’t his Peter. He didn’t have the same soul, though it was very similar. “The entanglement pulls people from multiple different universes, correct?”

“Yeah, what's the A plot gotta do with the B plot?” Peter joked.

“Well, I believe that perhaps—”

“Pete! Adam! Get your asses in here, we gots something.”

“Perfect timing, scutbag!” Peter yelled back at Rocket. He walked past Adam with urgency. Adam stayed standing there for a minute. A nice long minute to admire the stars again and take his mind off the prior conversation.

“Another signal,” Mantis said as soon as everyone was in the flight deck, “very similar to the ping sent from Gamora’s arrival. It came in during one of our tests.” 

“But, it's real far out. Meaning there's probably something big out there,” Rocket added, “We ought to be careful, really flarkin’ careful.” 

“Where's the ping?” Gamora asked.

“Oh, you won't believe me,” Rocket snickered.

Mantis rolled her eyes playfully. “It's from Hala.”

The Guardians paused in disbelief. Perhaps, in this universe, the Kree never once faced that world ending threat. They thought that maybe many were living peacefully in Hala, though it was unlikely.

After a moment of silence, Gamora looked confused at the screens. “What’s that?” She asked, pointing at the hundreds of dots covering Earth. 

Rocket turned to look. “Right,” he remembered, “we agreed that planets that got people to handle this typa’ stuff can handle their own problems. We get the uninhabited half.” Gamora nodded in acknowledgement. “Sorry, clearly someone forgot to mention that.” Rocket glared at Peter.

“What?” Peter raised his voice in offence. “Why would I need to tell her? Adam’s spent the most time with her,” he shifted the blame.

“Excuse me?” Adam turned towards him.

“Ain’t you s’posed to be the captain?” Rocket snickered as he spoke.

“Get over it guys, I know now,” Gamora added. They decided to lay off the bickering for now. “So, if Hala’s inhabited now, why’re we investigating?” 

Rocket calmed down. “We don’t exactly know that yet,” he clarified, “it might be full of people, in fact, it's pretty d'ast likely. But, it also could be empty.”

“Or full of creepy crawlies,” Peter added.

“Yeah, them’s too.” The Guardians strapped into their seats as Peter plotted a path to Hala. Kree planets seemed to be a popular destination for them at this point. 

Though the battles were important, most of the Guardians' minds were somewhere else.

Chapter Text

Hala was a beautiful sight. The Guardians could once again see the architecture of the planet and take in the nostalgic views of the cities and landscapes. They hadn’t yet landed, but they assumed it would be a delightful visit. Watching the buildings pass them almost felt like they were still mourning. It was as if the planet was destroyed only yesterday, as if those millions of lives in those buildings had been alive just moments before this moment. Perhaps that was true for this universe, but not for theirs. Hala was gone, and this barely felt like a last farewell. As they landed nearby a city, they took in the nearby sights. Lights glowing overhead through the morning darkness, chipped paint worn from life living in the city, windows showing a life inside of buildings many will never walk through. All of it felt lived in and cherished, though there was one thing they noticed very quickly. There was no one here. Absolutely no one in sight. They knew this was a possibility, but they were still hoping for the best. They still wondered what could have caused such a huge signal if there was no sign of damage or a fight. Perhaps it was the people of Hala who were taken out of their homes. It makes some sense, though it's impossible to tell how or why. 

There was a sudden noise coming from Rocket's pockets, a slight ding you’d hear from a bell with somewhat of an electronic tone to it. He took out a small screen which showed a notification coming from the Milano’s interface. “Woah,” Rocket stopped walking and the others followed, “check this one out.” Peter leaned over to look at the screen. It showed another ping coming from Hala, it was somewhat far across the planet. “Ain’t that freaky. People sized ping too.”

Mantis inched over to where Rocket and Peter stood. “Perhaps it is safe to assume that the ping we got earlier was not something arriving here, but instead something being taken from this universe?” The logic from her statement rang true with what has been shown to them. It was an exceptionally large ping, not to mention Hala’s uncharactaristic emptiness. The Guardians decided to accept that theory as true, possibly, another universe was also experiencing a strange increase in matter. Or, maybe this universe was attempting to fix the amount of its matter by ejecting other beings into other universes. Either way, they needed to make their way towards the next ping, and so they did.

The Guardians climbed back into the Milano. Adam turned back for a quick second to take a look at what was left of Hala now. Now that he was really thinking about it, it was a strange sight. Hala still felt familiar. It’s weird given how long ago Hala was destroyed. Given how long other Kree planets have been established to replace Hala. That last look he took was treasured, he may never see Hala again after this.

The flight across Hala wasn’t long. The Guardians decided they’d assist whomever they found. Of course, they didn’t have enough room for everyone they had found across the universe, but they’d help them to an inhabited planet and such. 

As the Milano landed in the wilderness of Hala, the Guardians prepared for a fight. It was impossible to tell who it could be, they just got lucky with Gamora. Outside of the Milano was an empty forest. They had traversed the forest cautiously. The Milano wasn't in a very stealthy location, its wings sat peeking through the trees. Anyone with a clear view could see it, which means Groot and Mantis were left behind to guard it. They were instructed to fly the Milano off Hala if the rest instructed through their communicators or if someone had found them. But, for now, Mantis and Groot lounged near the outskirts of the Milano with the entrance wide open. Since Hala was uninhabited they suspected they’d be fine, even though Mantis couldn’t tell if it would be or not anymore.

The rest of the Guardians walked through the forest. There was no clear trail and the uneven ground was slightly irritating. Rocket, however, didn’t mind the forest. Overhead branches got lower and lower and Gamora walked ahead the rest as she cut off the branches. Peter hummed terran tunes to combat the silence. They didn’t talk throughout the entire time they walked through the forest. Adam was lost in his thoughts, Peter was trying his hardest not to overthink about the prior conversation, Rocket was confused by the silence, and Gamora was trying to keep her focus on the mission. No one spoke up. That was until they heard a rustle nearby. Someone was there. Rocket climbed up onto the trees to get a better look while the others stood under said tree waiting for his insight. “What’re you seeing?” Gamora whispered to Rocket. He took a while to respond.

“I thinks it's two people,” He whispered back, “Yep, definitely two. They look harmless though.” 

“Are they armed?”

“Well,” Rocket responded, “ones got a big ass sword and—wait a click. No flarkin’ way.” Rocket abruptly stopped responding and looked closer.

“What? What is it?” Peter whisper-yelled to him.

Rocket shoo'd him away with his hand. “Shh! Be patient Star-Lard!”

“Wow okay. Asshole,” Peter responded quietly as he turned away from the tree.

“Yep, just as I thought,” Rocket raised his voice a bit as he climbed down. “Don't worry, we know ‘em.” He began walking towards the two people through the heavy bushes and low branches.

The rest paused in confusion before following him. Thorns sliced Peter’s arms as they walked through the rough nature. The two people seemingly stopped in place due to the rustle. They both assembled into a threatening pose. The Guardians came out of the bushes with their hands raised to prove they're not a threat. As they looked to see who it was they could hear Rocket already speaking to them. “Phy, Heather, how's marriage treating ya?” The two stood shocked at the sudden appearance of their past teammates. 

Phyla-vell casted her sword downwards as her position calmed. “Oh my Pama, I really didn't expect to see you guys here!” She smiled wide at the Guardians.

“What a nice coincidence,” Heather remarked, “We were really scared there was going to be someone not so friendly here.”

Adam spoke up first, “We were hoping whomever was here wasn’t hostile, so it's nice to see you two instead of an enemy.”

“What happened to you guys?” Gamora asked.

“Well,” Phyla responded, “we were just enjoying a simple date at Gosnell's, then all of a sudden…”

Heather continued for her, “We blinked and saw the woods.” The Guardians considered their words for a long minute. 

“So, you guys weren't on Hala, for obvious reasons. What gives? Why are people being taken to random planets around the universe?” Peter questioned. Phyla and Heather collectively wore a clear face of shock. Hearing about the idea of being able to stand on Hala being a possibility was insanity to them. Hell, it was insane to anyone. 

Rocket broke the silence before letting the couple yank them back into that conversation. “That’s what we's all been wonderin’, but I'd rather talk in the damn Milano, please.” Rocket spun around to make his way back to the ship. He held his hand up to his comms to relay the message to Groot.

Gamora groaned at that. “Do we really have to walk all that way back?” Despite her complaints, she spun on her heel to walk back.

“And here I was thinkin’ you was some big strong warrior princess. Youse just a big ol’ bum.” Rocket chuckled. His hand rose back up to press on the comms. “Alright Groot, we found the source.”

“I ain't a princess, rodent.” Gamora muttered under her breath so Rocket couldn't hear. Peter turned with them while nudging Adam, signaling him to take care of Phyla and Heather. Adam sighed, he knew they were bound to have a bad falling out sometime soon. He could sense it. “We likely will not have enough room on the Milano to house you both with us for long. However, we can offer a ride if you would take it.” Adam stood tall with a subtle smile growing on the corners of his mouth. He'd always been good friends with Phyla and Heather, Phyla especially took a liking to him a while back when he was a more active member of the Guardians. He was always glad to see them after his breaks away from the team every so often. He loved seeing their relationship grow over the years, not to mention how happy he was for them at their wedding. He knew that they'd jump at every chance to hang with the Guardians. 

Phyla looked towards Heather, her face still slightly full of shock. Then, with a look of awkward unease, she nodded and responded, “Of course!”

When the Guardians got to the Milano they saw Mantis waiting for them on the steps. As soon as she spotted them she sat up straight and waved her hand real high. Peter, Adam, Phyla, and Heather waved back. Gamora was out of it, walking for so long in her heeled boots on uneven ground wasn't fun. Rocket was busy tinkering with the portable Milano screen, seemingly getting the ship ready for take-off. 

“I could sense you two from a couple of miles, glad to see you!” Mantis walked over with her arms out, ready to hug the couple with loving arms. 

“Glad to see you too! Gosh, how long has it been?” Heather smiled while they hugged. 

“Only a few rotations, I thought.” Mantis paused. “Though, perhaps you could be of a different universe than us.” The Guardians paused at that. Of course, Adam had considered it, but everyone else hadn't. They all could've been from different universes, they had no way of telling, yet. That remark got Rocket thinking. Maybe there could be a way to find out, and if that didn't get Rocket excited to invent something, then what would? Though, not everyone shared that excited sentiment. Peter was especially shocked. He thought long and hard about the conversation he had with Adam only moments prior. Was it moments? Honestly, it could've been a whole rotation in Peter’s mind. The short few minutes of silence felt like ages to him. 

“Yes, it's been many revolutions since we've seen each other, I remember,” stated Heather. Of course, a good perk of psychic powers is sharp memory. There was no mistaking the fact that they weren't the exact same couple they had known. There were many similarities; within all the different universes, most important people were generally very similar. It was a strange concept, but even the multiverse must have its constants. 

The Guardians finally stepped inside of the Milano, now with their newer companions. Phyla and Heather took Drax’s room given Adam didn’t necessarily need one in the first place. Though, him spending more time in common areas made for more awkward encounters. Once lift off commenced, Rocket rarely left his room, and any time someone would knock they’d be hit with a loud “I'm busy, flark off” from him. 

Despite “The Conversation” eating its way through Peter’s brain, he never once brought attention to it. He mostly sat in his room pondering it, but he never once wanted to confront Adam again. At least, not until he was ready to accept reality. To Peter, the conversation was beyond confusing. Adam was angry with him and thought they were together. Like, together. Peter never once thought he was ever hinting at that. Well, there was the occasional personal talk they did more often than with anyone else, but other than that there was nothing. Then, Adam brought up the timestream entanglement. What did that have to do with anything? Their relationship issues had nothing to do with that, right? But once Mantis suggested they could all be from different universes without knowing, Peter just wasn't so sure anymore. Plus, Gamora clearly mentioned they had all gone missing from their original universe, so that couldn't be it. Yet, despite every excuse Peter pulled out of nowhere, he just couldn't shake it. That makes sense. It just does.

It took Peter two whole rotations to accept reality. Within those rotations, the pings were very silent. Aside from the occasional ping of a slightly warm meteor or whatnot, it was silent. Adam was spending more time in Mantis's room ever since an awkward encounter with Peter in the kitchen on the first night. The married couple were courtly for their short time on the Milano. Once they reached an inhabited planet, the two waved their goodbyes and said things along the lines of “Good luck finding my father!” and “Be safe, don't die!”. On the second rotation Gamora spent most of her time stress eating while Adam complained about the team never making healthy choices. Obviously, Gamora couldn't care less.

The night of the second rotation Peter couldn't wait any longer. He got up off his bed restless. He considered what he'd say to Adam while his hand hovered over the lock on his door. Was this the right time? Should he wait for tomorrow to come? No, the universe is as silent as ever now. If he tried tomorrow or the rotation after, he'd just be interrupted again. They had to talk now, right this instant. He unlocked his door with confidence and made his way towards the common area on instinct. When he noticed Adam wasn't there he shook off his doubts and headed towards Drax’s room. He didn’t knock for a good long minute. Though, before he could, his hand was interrupted by the door clicking open. The mechanical whirr of the automatic door pierced the silence of the nighttime Milano. Adam had his door unlocked. Of course he did. Damn him.

Adam was sitting on the floor in a clear meditative state. Hell, it almost seemed like Adam was expecting him, like this was some cheesy action movie and Adam played the villain. But it wasn't, and Peter could now see why he didn't notice the door open. There was a faint glow in the room, an unwelcoming color by the Guardians' history. Purple slightly grew on Adam’s forehead, coming clear off the gem in it. Peter grabbed his shoulder with concern, kneeling close next to him. With that the glowing came to an abrupt halt. And Adam's eyes opened slowly to look next to him. “Peter? Is there something wrong? Did we get another ping perhaps?” Peter decided to brush it off, for now. Of course he'd address it later, but they need to have this conversation now or he'll explode. 

“No I just—we should probably talk about the other day, y'know?” Peter took a quick awkward look around the room. Adam never once remodeled it for his own, he was very respectful with Drax’s belongings as well. Not common for Guardians, but certainly common for one. 

Adam sighed softly, “Right, Peter I hoped you'd understand what I was trying to say before our interruption after a while to think about it. However, if you still would like me to explain I gladly will—”

“No,” Peter rushed, “No, no, I think I got it. You think we ain't from the same universe, do I have that right?” Peter talked with a low, cautious voice. Adam could only nod and turn away from him. “Harsh reality. I mean—God forbid we can't get nothing nice and consistent around the universe.”

Adam muttered, “What God would forbid that?” It was a clear rhetorical question, expressed with disappointment and anger. Though, Peter can't help responding to rhetorical questions. 

“Dunno, but we've probably pissed off enough gods to have worse happen.” Adam breathed out a chuckle and Peter smiled at him. A nice warm smile. Yet Adam still couldn't face him.

Peter sat comfortably right between Adam and Drax’s bed with his legs sprawled out on the floor. Adam was still stuck in his straight posture and meditating pose with his face unwilling to meet Peter's. Adam asked swiftly, afraid of rejection, “Would you forgive me for my lashing out?” Peter looked at him in curiosity. “I should have considered this possibility before becoming angry.”

“Hey, you couldn't have, none of us could honestly.” Peter paused. “Do they know yet, by the way?” 

Adam thought for a second, “Likely only Mantis, she's quite nosy.” Peter let out a harsh laugh and prayed no one woke up from it. The air grew tense as one specific unspoken topic got stuck in their throats. It was the last thing they had to talk about. Neither one of them willing. Usually Adam would, he's a very confrontational person, though in that moment the looming fear that he'd never be with his Peter ever again struck him unable to speak. This Peter had to be the one to speak up. A first.

Peter cleared his throat, picked up his unsteady voice, and sang the topic loud. “So, you and, uh, other me. You guys are a thing, huh?” His mouth was dry. 

“Yes.”

“Explains why I thought you were acting way more friendly with me recently. It's kinda funny if you think about it.” 

An awkward pause. 

“Honesty, it helped me realize a lot about us. Well, me and my Adam, I mean.”

“Really?” Adam asked dryly, almost uninterested. He wasn’t, in reality. He was just preoccupied with his own thoughts. 

“God, it's weird talking about it with the guy in question but technically you're not. Is that how it works?” Peter talked a lot when he was nervous, it was a clear defining trait. “It's like training for the real thing.” He said at a near whisper. Adam could barely hear it, but when he did he snapped to focus on the conversation at hand. Adam finally looked Peter in the face. Peter looked into his eyes and brought the courage out of his chest. “I think I love you.”