Chapter Text
Days ago, he had felt Peter Quill die. Like the snap of a rubber band against his wrist, only he felt it in his own soul. It had stopped him dead in his tracks, and for far too long of a moment, he thought that was the end.
The one time Peter fell into an alternate reality without him, and it was the first and final time he died.
Then he had felt the bond reignite moments after, and the relief had forced him to his knees on the tiled floor of Baxter Building’s lab. Running his hands through his hair, parsing what it meant as the kind hands of Susan slid over his shoulders, her worried voice in his ear.
There had been another Adam there to save him. It was the only explanation he could think of.
It had been—awkward, trying to explain himself to them. To Susan and Reed, neither of whom offered judgment, or smart remarks as the Guardians might have.
Just a small, shared understanding. Hearing the confession for what it was, even if Adam himself hadn't acknowledged it as such in that moment.
That came later. When he was alone in Peter's room, sitting on his bed and holding that red leather jacket on his lap. Staring down at it blankly and feeling the void in his heart where Quill's aimless chatter was supposed to be.
Gamora had walked in on him, but he hadn't reacted. Even when she sat beside him, a soft sigh leaving her lips. She had let the quiet hang for a while before breaking it, her voice quiet. "We miss him, too, Adam."
A twinge of pain in his chest that he didn't know what to do with. "I know."
She had placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned into him, and the silence returned anew. Both of them missing the same man in different ways.
A silence that was echoed outside the room, and that was perhaps the most telling of all.
When Rocket had landed the Milano here, Adam had swiftly decided he wasn’t going to sit idle. He knew Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four; if anyone could help locate Quill, it would have been him.
At least he was doing something. Something other than sitting around waiting, or whining, or arguing. Something other than running off to be alone on a desolate island in the middle of the ocean.
Progress was slow, of course, but it was still progress. It had been about a week since Quill’s disappearance, and they had been so close to finding a way to use the bond as an anchor when—
It disappeared entirely.
The catalyst for his lonely vigil.
The sudden absence of it drove Adam to agitated confusion, and the theorizing and platitudes of the Fantastic Four only served to push him further. Taking the detour out here had been necessary for his own sanity, but then he had heard him. Quill. Yelling from somewhere nearby.
He thought he had been hallucinating. He had almost talked himself out of looking, but—well.
He glanced to Quill, a mild frown on his lips at the drool soaking into his shirt and skin. It was fortunate that Adam decided to investigate anyway, or he would have broken every bone in his body upon impact with the water. If that hadn’t somehow killed him, he would certainly have drowned afterward.
Without the soul bond, bringing him back would have been…difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.
Stupid of that other Adam to remove it.
The sun had begun to set by the time he returned to the large island the Milano had parked itself on, lowering gently to the ground before the ramp leading up into the ship.
Gamora was outside, against a palm tree that had snapped under the Milano. Her gaze seemed distant and despondent before she noticed him, only the slightest interest in her eyes.
Then she saw Peter, bloodied and unconscious, and the widening of her eyes preceded her bolting to her feet. “Is that—”
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Gods, is he dead?” She asked, rushing over to check.
“No.”
A frown settled on her face as she inspected him, relief in her amber eyes as much as annoyance. Adam understood the feeling well. “He looks like shit.”
The point couldn’t really be argued, but Adam still gave her a mildly disapproving look. “He is exhausted.”
“I can tell,” she remarked, moving to walk beside Adam as he continued toward the ramp. “Was he hurt?”
He glanced toward her, and after a beat she gave a wry smile before looking away. “Yeah, dumb question. Sorry.”
“He isn’t currently wounded,” Adam said, focusing forward again.
She snorted quietly, sounding amused. “Because you’re here. Idiot doesn’t know how lucky he is that you stuck around.”
Adam felt that they were both lucky in some fashion, but said nothing on the matter.
Once they were in the main living area, Adam found himself the center of everyone else’s attention. Rocket was the first to break the stunned silence, dropping the tool he was holding onto his workbench. “Flarkin’ scut, is that Quill? Our Quill?”
Adam gave a nod.
Rocket glanced to the others, who seemed no less in shock. He glanced back to Adam, lifting a hand to flip his goggles up. “I’ll be damned. Your friends were actually able to help?”
Adam glanced away at that, head tilting somewhat. “…not quite. He fell out of the sky near my location on my way back to the ship.”
Rocket didn’t consider that for long. “Yeah, that sounds like somethin’ that would happen to Quill.”
From his position seated on a crate near the wall, Drax sat up straight with a frown. He gestured with the blade he had been sharpening as he spoke. “I thought you said he was in another reality. How did he fall out of our sky?”
That was something Adam didn’t have the answer to. “A question you can ask once he wakes, but he needs rest. And quiet,” Adam added, eyes narrowing at the lot of them.
“I am Groot,” said the flora colossus seated on the couch, standing to make space. Gesturing with a hand.
It was a kind offer that Adam took. He carried Quill over to the vacated space, gently lowering him down into the cushions. He hadn’t even noticed Gamora had followed him until she took one of the circular pillows tucked into the corner and handed it to Adam. He accepted it, carefully setting it under Quill’s head.
From seemingly nowhere, Drax appeared with a blanket. He wedged himself between Adam and Gamora, both of whom shifted to give him space as he draped the fabric over Quill. Even tucking him in, a fact that had Gamora and Adam sharing a somewhat bemused look.
When he pulled back, he hooked his thumbs into his belt and met Adam’s eyes. “I shall ensure that none will disturb his rest.”
A friendly smile bent a wooden face when Groot gestured to himself, adding, “I am Groot.”
Adam allowed a small smile. “I appreciate it, both of you. That’s very kind.”
“Well,” Rocket began, hopping off of the small stool he had to stand on to see above the desk, “guess this means we can radio Mantis. Tell ‘er we’re going back to Knowhere.”
He scampered over, squeezing himself between everyone to sniff at Quill. He made a face. “Eugh, he smells like a snave. I guess it’s better than dead, though.”
“Maybe we should pin an air freshener to the couch,” Gamora mused, earning a flat look from Adam that had her mischievous smile growing.
Rocket snorted and turned away. “Yeah, maybe use one of his stupid jacket pins for it. What does he have, a billion of those things?”
“We are not invading his room while he’s unconscious,” Adam cut in with a deep sigh.
“Why not? It’s not like he locks the door,” Gamora snorted as she moved toward the kitchenette.
Rocket scampered away toward the cockpit, disappearing into it. “I say use that pin that says, ‘I heart Contraxia,’” he called back.
Gamora snorted at that as she returned with a bottle of water, settling it on the table in front of the couch. Close to Peter. “Relax, Adam. We aren’t serious.”
“I think Rocket might be,” Adam returned, glancing toward the cockpit with a frown.
Gamora waved a dismissive hand. “You know he’s all talk. Most of the time.”
Drax and Groot stood near to Quill, Groot inspecting him from where he leaned slightly over the couch. Drax was situated in front of it, arms crossed over his chest. Taking his pledge very seriously.
How loved Peter was. It had Adam’s brows twitching as he turned toward Gamora. She met his eyes knowingly, but he didn’t spare a thought for it. “I need to alert the Fantastic Four that he’s been found.”
She nodded, cutting a glance to the cockpit. “Okay. I’ll make sure Rocket doesn’t try to leave without you.”
It was a touching gesture, but still Adam said, “It’s of no consequence to me. I would find all of you again in any case.”
Two soul bonds that belonged to him on the same vessel would be, frankly, embarrassingly easy to find. Even adrift in space.
Yellow eyes flicked toward him again. “Peter wouldn’t leave without you. Neither will I.”
Adam hummed, his gaze drifting away. “…How sweet. Thank you.”
He didn’t linger afterward, choosing instead to just leave. He felt Gamora’s eyes on him as he walked away and had to ignore the ridiculous urge to look back and check on Quill a final time. He was in good hands; there was nothing to worry about.
If only knowing that stopped the nagging feeling.