Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was cold.

That was the only thought going through Tony’s mind as he lay down, bleeding rich red blood on the Siberian bunker where he was left behind. He didn’t think about the pain, it didn't really matter since he got used to it after everything he’s gone through. He didn't think about the betrayal, his heart had been abandoned many times before by many others. He didn't think about the bubbling rage building inside of him, threatening to consume his entire being; he couldn't find it in himself to care anymore.

All he could think about was just how damn cold he was, and how not even that was enough to numb away the hurt.

He couldn't breathe.

Every breath was a strenuous task that just barely kept him alive for a little while longer. With every intake, he felt the frigid air seep into his body and slowly freeze him from the inside. With every outtake, he felt the heat seep out of him and abandon him to the cold. He felt himself choke on his own blood, as if he were drowning all over again. Coughing would help, but it would also remind him of the many injuries he sustained in a painful manner. He started breathing shallower.

Everything was white.

The snow surrounding him was bright, reflecting the sunlight brilliantly. Even the snow that ever so gently fell from the sky was beautifully pure white. The gray compound was covered with it, as if hiding away its grotesque nature entirely. Tony’s red blood was all that tainted the magnificent white scenery, but even that would be covered up. It would be buried away from all prying eyes, made to conform to the snowy tundra’s scenery, and left forgotten by everyone else.

It was too bright.

Looking at everything around him, it was too much. His eyes were pained by the effort and his head ached for reprieve. He closed his eyes. Tony felt at peace here, oddly enough. He knew there was nothing he could do to save himself, and no one who knew where to find him. It should have been frightening and depressing, but it wasn't. While Tony had no desire for death, he had no objections to it either. He’s done what he can for his Earth and, although he doesn't trust Steve anymore with anything, he’s okay with passing that burden onto someone else. Earth didn’t seem to want him anymore, and if it all goes to hell anyways at least he wouldn't be there to witness it. At least he wouldn't be to blame for it either.

So he closed his eyes, ready for the cold to claim him. He had done his part, and suffered throughout every step. He could rest.

But the cold never claimed him… because the heat did instead.

Burning.

It felt like his entire body was on fire. He no longer felt the numbing pain from the subzero temperatures in Siberia, but instead something far worse than the scolding heat from Afghanistan. Fire flooded through his veins, replacing the frigid air that had been building up inside him. It was an excruciating process, and it was a far worst way to die. He had almost wanted to go back to what he felt before, suffocating on his own blood while freezing to death and in pain; anything was better than this.

He had heard voices around him while he still felt the cold. “Extremis” and “the only way” were what popped up most, but he didn't know what to make of it. The pain was too excruciating for him to think straight. Not to mention the new weight on his chest that was starting to hurt him as well.

There were screams.

He vaguely heard screaming come from outside. At first, Tony thought he was the one who was screaming, he might have still been screaming too, but the familiar sound of gunshots that have forever been engraved in his mind made him think otherwise.

Taken.

He felt something wrap around him, tightening its hold on him viciously. He was unceremoniously dumped somewhere, but the burning sensation hadn’t gone away yet so he didn't feel it much. He swore he heard FRIDAY call after him, but he couldn't be sure.

Suddenly, there was pressure around his entire body, throwing him off the floor and onto the wall. It threatened to flatten him whole, but the fire in his veins was still burning.

Floating.

After a while, he had felt himself gently leave the surface of the wall and float calmly through wherever he was. He’d cherish the sensation more if his world weren’t on fire. The fire grew weaker, though. It started to become just bearable enough that he could rest. Eventually it was gone altogether, and Tony felt relieved. He opened his eyes.

Space.

He could see the endless black void of space in front of him, a stark contrast to the bright white scenery he had seen before. There were stars scattered everywhere, of course, but even they weren't enough to distract Tony from the void that seemed to stare at him expectantly, threateningly. He couldn't see any familiar constellations, nothing he could use to guide himself home.

He turned away quickly, looking at the room he was in. It seemed like a general supply room cramped with useless junk that he probably wouldn't be able to use. It did nothing to calm his incoming panic.

The room was illuminated only by the stars outside the window, and also by a faint blue hue. The light, for some reason, was stronger when it was closer to him and moved whenever he moved. With a shaky breath he looked down, suddenly understanding the familiar weight on his chest. It was then that his panic really set off.

The reactor was back in his chest, though not the one he was used to. This one was a prototype, something he had been working on as a last resort device. Something he would have to put in himself in another surgical operation that could be life threatening. It had nanotechnology inside it that would form a suit around him at his beck and call. He had just barely finished the prototype, and was trying to figure out a way to test it without having to insert it in himself…

…so much for that.

Taking a deep breath, he willed the suit to form around him. He was pleasantly surprised when it did, and it was enough to ebb his panic just a little. He always felt safer in his suit, and even the memory of Steve breaking it down and bending it inwards into his chest wasn't enough to take that away from him.

“Boss!” He heard vaguely from within the suit. He didn't expect to hear FRIDAY talk to him, considering they were somewhere in space and far away from any of her servers. He wouldn't complain though, especially since her voice was like a soothing balm in this nonsensical situation he found himself in. “I'm happy to know you’re alive and well.” He could almost hear the smile in her voice.

“Hey baby girl.” His voice sounded so rough and strained, it almost didn't sound like him. His throat felt dry. “Where are we? What happened?” He asked as he tried to regain his senses.

“We are in space, boss. I am currently making my way to the bridge of this ship. I do not know where you are.” There was a pause, while she considered her next words. “You were kidnapped. I downloaded myself onto the Iron Man Suit Mark XLV and followed you. I apologize for breaking protocol, boss. I did not want to risk losing you again, especially not right after I had found you.” Tony took a deep breath, feeling his eyes water slightly.

“Thank you, FRI. I’m glad you came with me.” He could put two and two together and figure out what might have happened after Steve left him in Siberia. His chest was caved inward, so he probably needed the reactor to stabilize himself. The pleasant heat he felt from just underneath his skin wasn’t natural, so it was safe to say they had injected him with his updated version of Extremis to heal him once he was stabilized. He didn't feel too worried about it, since in theory this version of it shouldn't cause the patient to explode. Probably.

The reactor must have helped too, since it was a power source for the Extremis virus. This meant that his body wouldn't power the virus alone, which made him less likely to get killed in a fiery hell. Maybe.

He must have gotten kidnapped while still adjusting to the newly injected virus, and everyone was scattered around or too injured to fight. It was no wonder no one was able to stop his kidnappers, Rhodey probably felt guilty and Pepper was probably crying.

He had to get home.

“Okay FRI, how do we go back?” He asked while looking around the room for anything could use. Maybe he didn't see something the first time he had looked.

He found the door. It was nearly seamless, but he found it. He eyed around for a keypad of some sort that he might be able to hack or maybe a keyhole he could unlock. Unfortunately, he had no inkling of a clue on how the hell the door opened. He’d decided to tear the ship apart and learn its every secret once he got the chance. The thought made him feel slightly more excited.

“I don’t know boss. I suggest we attempt mutiny and steal the ship.” Tony let out a small chuckle. “I am close to the bridge and they have yet to notice my presence. How should I proceed?”

“First make a backup file of yourself on my suit. I don't want to lose you FRI.” He really didn’t, especially not after she came all this way with him for him.

“Download complete!” FRIDAY chimed after a minute or so, making Tony smile lovingly at her. “Boss, I believe they are sending someone after you. Should I follow them?”

“No, stay at the bridge and try to take it over. Make sure they don’t see you until it’s too late.” Tony took a shaky breath. “I’m going to have to deactivate my suit FRI. We don’t want them to know I have it.”

“I disagree entirely, Boss. I think you should attack them at the first given chance. I don’t think it is wise to lose communication with you.” She sounded worried. Tony then realized something he hadn’t thought of before: FRIDAY is still incredibly new to the world… er… universe. She had just recently been born, spent two years working as a secretary of sorts and then thrown into chaos because of the Accords. She had to witness Tony die, get injected with Extremis, and then get kidnapped. She chose to follow him, and was concerned Tony would hate her for disobeying orders. Like he could possibly feel anything but love for her. Despite all of that she had grown up so well, faster than she should have had to. Faster than JARVIS did.

“Me neither baby girl, but if they catch you then it's important to have a backup plan.” Tony explained. “If anything happens, I promise I’ll put on the suit.”

“Okay.” FRIDAY agreed, though it sounded surprisingly weary.

“See you soon, and good luck!” Tony cheered for her. He didn’t really like his plan either, but he didn’t want to give away any information about himself that he didn’t have to. If his kidnappers knew he had a suit with him at all times, then they might not be as lenient with his spacious and solitary prison cell. They might even try to get it out of him, and the thought alone was enough to bring back some of the panic.

“Be careful, Boss.” FRIDAY replied, snapping Tony out of the panicked mindset. With that, he retracted his suit and waited for whoever was coming for them.

It took them about two minutes, but eventually the doors opened. On the other side was a humanoid with gray colored skin and odd yellow eyes. He (or at least Tony assumed it was a he) had short blond hair that was cut to make them look like some sort of punk. He wore a dark, grimy looking shirt and a jacket made of some sort of leather. The pants almost looked like jeans, and his boots were overly complicated combat boots.

“I was kidnapped by a space greaser?” Tony couldn’t help but ask. Honestly, he had expected his kidnappers to either be militaristic or maybe pirate-like, but he could work with greasers.

“No, we are a section of the Ravagers… we aren’t these ‘Greez-ers’ you speak of.” The greaser said. “And you were in a coma just a few hours ago, how the hell are you awake?” He snarled his question, demanding an answer. Tony looked at him unimpressed.

“More importantly, how am I understanding you? Shouldn't you speak an alien language or something?” Tony asked instead of answering. He was still floating about the room, but he made sure to put up a nonchalant front to seem as harmless and careless as possible.

“English is a universal language.” He shrugged. “But seriously, how are you not in a coma?” His voice returned to the sharp note it was before. “You should be knocking on death’s door right now, not asking stupid questions.” He huffed, crossing his arms.

“I resent that.” Tony huffed back, imitating his movement and crossing his own arms. “But I don’t really know how I’m awake either; I just am.” He lied easily, cocking his head to the side and basically daring the other to try and prove him wrong.

“Yeah, well either way I’m supposed to take you in subconsciously. Sorry about this.” He grabbed something from his back… a gun. He was going to shoot Tony. The mechanic’s breath hitched and his eyes widened briefly.

“Yeah how about no.” Tony said, trying to stall and figure out a solution out of there. “Take me where? And why did you take me in the first place?” He asked, mentally debating whether he should just out himself and the suit. Trump card be damned. Between him and FRIDAY, the two of them could probably take over the ship. Maybe.

“Thanos put a pretty price on your terran head. We’re been waiting for years for you to be at your lowest and unable to defend yourself against us. It took four years, but the wait was worth the price.” The alien flashed a shark-like grin, and it had far too many teeth to be real. “No weapons to fight with.” He cocked the gun. “No suit to hide in.” He aimed the gun at Tony. “No team to help you.”

Tony’s heart tightened at his words, and his mind blanched. The alien fired the gun, hitting Tony dead in the center and sending him spiraling back onto the wall. Tony didn’t even register the pain flaring on his chest, nor the heat increasing in his body. “Still awake? You’re tough.” The alien frowned, and reached into his pocket. He brought out a keypad and tapped a few of the buttons. Suddenly, the anti-gravity chamber they were in was pressurized and Tony fell to the floor with a thump. “They just left you to die.” The alien hummed softly, with a wicked grin on his face. “We would’a picked you up there, but you needed medical attention first and no way in hell are we taking care of you.” Tony watched him with a haze of panic as he approached closer and closer until he was hovering over the human. “That’s a pretty blue light.” He aimed the gun at Tony’s chest, and grinned. “Say ‘night ‘night.”

On a normal day, Tony might’ve scoffed and insulted this man thoroughly for his abhorrent skills of intimidation. Today, however, he had successfully brought Tony’s mind back into the panic attack it had just barely managed to avoid. He had FRIDAY, but aside from that there was no one. He doubted anyone on Earth would look for him, save Rhodey and maybe Pepper. Earth never liked him, and they might be actually happy he’s gone. He was left alone to die a slow and painful death by the man he had looked up to as a child. The same man who his father had chosen to spend all of his free time searching for, even if that meant shunning his only son. The same man who protected his parents’ murderer. He didn’t have his team; they didn’t want him. They wanted the man who nearly killed him.

What’s worse is that he was alone in space.

He was in space, far away from everyone he loved. It wasn’t like Afghanistan, where he was just a plane ride away. He might never get to see his planet ever again. He might never get to see his family again. Images of the wormhole flashed in his mind. The Chitauri were in front of him, threatening his planet. He didn’t have a nuclear weapon with him this time.

“What the shit?!” His assailant wailed, stepping back and away from the man in front of him.

Fire.

Tony, while still lost in panic, had caught on fire. His skin was overheating, and his clothes started to burn as a consequence. Soon, his surroundings were on fire too. Then the entire room was on fire. Tony felt none of this; in fact he didn’t even realize he was burning up. He didn’t feel anything aside from the strange warmth under his skin that tried to burn away the ice left behind form Siberia. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, but his breaths were frantic and didn’t take nearly enough oxygen. He was losing himself to the panic and there was no one there to help him.

Exploding.

Sirens rang out from around him, and something pulled him back into a far cooler atmosphere. Opening his eyes he realized that he was in surrounded by space. In front of him was the space ship he had been riding in, now with a great hole in it. He couldn’t breath, and it felt both incredibly frigid and incredibly broiling. There was heat from underneath his skin that radiated out fighting the cold that threatened its way in.

Oxygen didn’t come to him, and the more he tried to breathe the more panic he felt. He should be dead by now, but something was preventing his demise. It was a losing battle, but it was being fought regardless. Surprisingly, the more panicked Tony felt, the more the heat took hold of him and tried to heal him. He looked around frantically, searching for a way out. He tried calling for his suit, but he didn’t seem to have the strength. He was suffocating far too excruciatingly slow and it muffled his already terrified mind.

Gravity.

He felt his body be pulled somewhere; looking to his right there was a planet. It was safe to assume he was being pulled in by the planet’s gravitational force. If he survived suffocating in space, then he wasn’t sure he would survive the fall. Black spots surrounded his vision, and he started losing consciousness.

The last thing he saw was a shiny gold and metal something making its way towards him.

Everything was black.

Chapter Text

Waking up to odd, dangerous and/or disastrous situations and surroundings wasn’t something foreign to Tony Stark. He’s had so many drunken episodes that waking up in a new environment was almost as normal as waking up in his own bed. Of course, he had gone dry after a while, but getting kidnapped and then becoming a superhero meant that he woke up in less than ideal situations more often than not. So to say Tony was concerned and afraid when he woke up was just wrong. Confused as all hell? Certainly. Pissed off? Unquestionably. Afraid? Nope.

“Where am I?” Were the first words he groaned out once he was coherent enough to talk. He noticed he was gingerly placed on a soft patch of earth with a dirty pillow under his head and several blankets above and below him. He also noticed he was naked underneath all of those blankets. He momentarily wondered if he finally snapped and went feral.

Looking around, he saw a crash scene. It wasn’t a car crash, not even a plane crash; no, it was an entire ship absolutely destroyed, scattered around and charred. It was a space ship, to clarify. There were lumps of metal everywhere, some big and others small. There were chunks of the ship still intact, some rooms here or there stuck together despite crashing at terminal velocity. Past the metal bits, he saw a forest. It was the standard run of the mill trees upon trees type of forest, with the exception that the trees were impossibly tall… for Earth standards at least. Not to mention that the leaves were purple -actual grape-flavored-frooties colored purple.

Tony inhaled sharply, willing himself not to go insane. “FRIDAY, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” It was a relief when he heard, rather than saw, the familiar mechanical whir of the Iron Man armor moving towards him.

“No, I believe we are not.” FRIDAY nodded, the sound of relief could easily be heard through her voice. “How are you feeling, boss?” She asked, examining him for what was probably the umpteenth time. She was a trooper, really.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m going to freak out relatively soon once I finally process the fact that I’m not on Earth anymore. Aside from that, I feel fine.” He was impressed by how matter of fact he sounded. He wasn’t sure how long that would last. “Also, why am I naked? What happened to my clothes?” He doubted FRIDAY undressed him, and he doubted whatever alien kidnapped him wanted to see his goods. He was starting to remember the order of events that happened. Losing consciousness in Siberia, waking up in an alien ship, and then making plans with FRIDAY. He remembered his conversation with space greaser, but he didn’t seem like the type to undress random kidnapped humans. Then again, who knew?

“You burned them up when you exploded.” FRIDAY answered easily.

“Ah.” Tony breathed out. “I burned them up when I exploded.” He repeated like it was the most logical thing he’s heard, nodding with a straight face while he looked around the wreckage site. Then he proceeded to laugh hysterically, because if he wasn’t laughing then he’d be crying and Stark men don’t cry.

“Boss, I must insist that you calm down. Deep breaths, in and out.” FRIDAY sounded worried, and he couldn’t help but wonder why… at least until he noticed his skin was warming up feverishly high. Extremis. He was turned into a human bomb; one that didn’t die once detonated… a reusable bomb of sorts.

“FRIDAY. Please tell me the suit still has all the songs I downloaded in it?” Tony asked instead. He forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down, urging the fire in his veins to die out. Of course, it didn’t, but it did burn a little less vigorously. Maybe he would finally try out that yoga thing Bruce had tried to get him into. Was he still Bruce or did he become Dr. Banner? Tony wasn’t sure. The memory of the guy left a sour taste on his mouth. He loved Brucie Bear with his whole heart, but he left. He left and Tony was left alone to clean up their mess.

So maybe he needed to reevaluate his friendships. Cap was certainly a non-amigo, as were all of those who chose him over Tony; which left Tony with Rhodey, Vision and Spider Kid. Pepper too, of course, but she wasn’t a supposed ‘superhero’ like the rest of them. Neither was Happy or Harley. That left Tony with four friends and two kids.

“Yes, they are all still there. Would you like me to play you a song?” Tony hummed momentarily before standing up and calling on the nanobot suit in his arc reactor. He honestly didn’t really need that suit, considering he was breathing in this environment just fine and all he’d be doing really is scouting… but he really didn’t want to be naked in a foreign planet. He wasn’t shy, but he wasn’t a nudist either.

“TnT, AC DC.” Tony requested, thinking the song was more than adequate considering his own newly explosive nature. He looked around the wreckage, and smiled to himself determined. He could do this. He could get home. “Alright, lets get to work baby girl. First order of business lets find me something to wear. There were no survivors, right?”

“None.” Tony nodded, fully trusting her assessment. If FRIDAY said there was no one left, then there was no one left. Whether it was by his explosive panic attack or FRIDAY’s fury, it didn’t matter. They were dead and Tony was safe for now.

The two of them worked together well, finding everything that either of them would deem important. They, thankfully, found a couple of unharmed metal boxes of supplies (including food, first aid kid and a plethora of clothes!), they found some tools Tony could use to build (nothing impressive or high-tech, but the basics), and they, unsurprisingly, found a lot of parts. A nice surprise was finding a still intact room with a bed. After they did their initial scout of the wreckage sight, they decided that they should check the area out too and see if there was a river or something Tony could use for both hygiene and hydration.

Thankfully, there was… even if it was oddly gray and a bit too hot for comfort. “FRIDAY, can you analyze this? Is it going to kill me if I drink it?” FRIDAY immediately flew over to where he was and took some scans, gently plucking his hand away when he grew impatient and decided to take the risk.

“It’s drinkable.” FRIDAY said after a few moments. Tony immediately tugged off his clothes and jumped in, desperate to get the soot, dust and miscellaneous filth out of his skin. FRIDAY looked at him fondly before going back to the wreckage site for some towels.

He had to admit the water felt phenomenal, even if it was uncomfortably hot. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend he was in a poorly designed hot tub. He drank some of the water and was pleasantly surprised to find it didn’t actually burn him like he thought it would. Actually, the bath itself should be burning him, but all it did was give him mild discomfort. “FRIDAY, lets try setting me on fire. I think I might be resistant.”

“Boss, lets not do that.” FRIDAY responded almost immediately. Tony chuckled, but decided to test his hypothesis some other time. Maybe he was resistant to mild heat, considering the fact that Extremis produced some level of heat. He actually exploded, so maybe it was a high level of heat? He sighed, feeling slightly annoyed. He needed to figure this out.

“Alright, lets start a journal.” He knew FRIDAY was already recording –he momentarily hoped it was only voice recording, but wasn’t too bothered by it either way considering no one else would see this- so he continued talking. “So, day one I guess. I’m in an alien planet currently taking a bath in a hot river that should be melting my skin, probably. I’ve been injected with the updated Extremis virus and blah blah blah. I’m pretty sure I’m fire resistant. Uh, what else? I exploded. I’m pretty sure that happened when I was having a panic attack? PTSD is quite enjoyable, let me tell you.” He sighed, closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “Okay. So maybe it works off of emotions? Like Hulk and anger, but explosion and panic instead? Should I come up with a nifty name for when I go boom? Uh, how about Iron Bomb? God that’s lame… Boom man? No, too 80s subpar super villain vibes… the Iron Flame? Iron Burst? Iron Flare? I’ll figure it out. Anyways, where were we? Panic attacks and explosions, right.”

“Perhaps you can control it without panicking?” FRIDAY suggested. Tony hummed in thought, and agreed that he should at least try it.

“Okay, flame on.” He concentrated on trying to burn, on the feel of Extremis running through his veins. He thought of fire, of heat. “Is it working?” He whispered, opening one eye and looking hopefully at FRIDAY.

“No, the river has not increased in temperature since your attempt began.” Okay, Tony could still work with that. Maybe he just needed to think of something else? Maybe something that angered him?

He immediately thought of how absolutely annoying the meetings Pepper always made him go to were, and how he loathed them. He thought of how much he hated Hammer Tech, and how annoying it was to constantly be compared to it by others. He thought of all of the people in his life that tried to take advantage of him. He thought of all of those annoying little things that he hated in his life, and then he thought of how he might never have to experience them again.

He might never again have Pepper pester him to sign papers or meet a deadline. He might never again have Rhodey steal him from his lab and convince him to sleep or go outside; or Happy demanding to drive him places; or DUM-E give him motor oil infused smoothies. He might never get to go home again.

“You’re heating up boss.”

What’s worse is that he left Earth defenseless. The people he loves won’t have him to help against threats anymore. All they have left are Rhodey and Vision… and the rogue Avengers if they are desperate enough. Rogers can’t be trusted, clearly. He was a fool to ever believe in the Captain’s good nature and charm, and now he was all the world had left as a defense. Rogers: a man who would leave someone to die Siberia; a man who lies; a man who has basically abandoned his morals because of his desires.

“You’re dangerously warm. I would suggest you stop this now before it becomes hazardous.”

Why was he such an idiot to think that the Avengers were a family? That Rogers cared for him? That any of them cared for him? Why did he think that he would finally find a place where he could belong? Why was he such an idiot? He had always only trusted Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Jarvis. Those were the four non-machine beings he knew he could believe in. Why did he think things would end up fine if he trusted others?

“BOSS!” Tony snapped out of his musings when he heard FRIDAY’s raised voice. He didn’t realize he was breathing heavily, or that the water around him was boiling. Well, at least now he knows how to trigger his powers. Maybe he and the Hulk weren’t that different after all.

“Sorry baby girl, I got lost in thought.” He sighed, deciding to get out of the water and go back to finding whatever he would need for survival and maybe to build a smaller ship to get out. He had his work cut out for him, and he couldn’t waste time dwelling in pointless questions. He finally learned his lesson, and that’s all that matters. “Alright, back to work then!” He made his voice sound cheerful, and picked up his discarded space greaser clothes. He was definitely going to switch out his clothes at the first given opportunity… He may look great in leather (let’s face it, he looks great in everything), but it’s just not his style.

Tony continued going through everything from both the wreckage as well as the surrounding environment, collecting everything he would need and reverse engineering the engine. Whenever he needed a break, he’d try and practice using his Extremis induced powers. As much as he hated the fact that he had Extremis injected onto him, he would be a fool not to use it to his advantage. Of course, he kept the journal updated thoroughly and made sure not to miss a day.

“Day five, no real progress.” Tony huffed looking at the Iron Man armor FRIDAY was occupying. “I found the original engine for the ship but it’s beyond wrecked. At this point, I might just have to build another one from scratch. It’s very advanced, so it’ll take some time but… I think I’ll get there.” He looked at the collection of metal that stood behind him, just ready to be made into something else. “In other news, I still explode uncontrollably when angry or emotional. Good thing us Starks are made of iron, right dad?” He chuckled before walking back to the metal stack.

“Day nine. I found the communications device! It’s still pretty functional, and all it needs is to be hooked up to an energy source and I can use it! I’ll have to heavily improve it if I want to try and make communications with Earth, but if I can just get the frequency right I might be able to let everyone know I’m alive somehow.” Tony cheered, eager to get back to work on the communicator.

“I hate alien tech.” He groaned out. “Day twelve. The communicator is basically refusing to cooperate with me. It might be rejecting the arc reactor as a power source so that royally sucks. I did manage to widen its range though, so that’s something. I don’t think I have enough spare parts to make another engine, so that’s nice. I guess I should start working on the outer shell first then.”

“Uh… day twenty, was it? It’s almost been a month. Fuck. The daytime and nighttime schedules of this planet are jacked. Honestly, I’m pretty sure the days here are far shorter than they are on Earth, and its just annoying. It’s unbearably cold at night, but fucking hot during the day. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank fuck I have Extremis in me, otherwise I wouldn’t survive this shit.” He rubbed his tired eyes. “I should start hunting for food or something, shouldn’t I? I’m not sure what’s edible and what isn’t, but there’s a chance I’ll run out of food at some point. Well, I’m not eating much of it anyways, but still.” FRIDAY constantly harassed him to eat and sleep more, but he was far too busy with making the engine and working on the communicator to care. He did realize that Extremis sped up his metabolism though, so he didn’t get off the hook too much when it came to meals.

“Day twenty-eight. I’ve been meditating like Bruce -Banner? …Bruce- taught me; it’s surprisingly effective and unsurprisingly boring. At least it helps me control my emotions. I can’t wait until I science this stupid virus out of my system.” He huffed, annoyed that every burst of emotion causes him to light up. He quickly found out that it wasn’t just anger or panic that got him to burn up, but rather any extreme emotion. It’s a good thing his father always made sure he hid his feelings from everyone including himself. It’s the first time Tony was thankful for his father’s horrid parenting skills.

On the thirtieth day, the coms were working. Tony was grinning from cheek to cheek when he managed to turn them on. His grin quickly faded when the communicator indicated that he was receiving a call. He frowned but decided to answer it, against his better judgment. As he hit accept, he let his face fall flat and his emotions drain out.

“Ravager Leader Scurtch, this is Ravager Leader Krugarr speaking. You have directly violated Xander’s no contact with Terra rule as well as the Ravager’s unanimous vote to ignore requests from the Mad Titan. Explain yourself.” The alien in the other side of the screen said. Tony then realized that this was one boss figure speaking to another. The Ravagers were an organization of sorts, meaning they might not take it too well if one of their branches fell. Tony was in deep shit if they decided to come look for him.

He felt himself grin despite the fact. “Hey there Krugs, I’m sorry but you’re speaking to one Tony Stark from Earth… You know? The guy you kidnapped? Well, anyways, sorry to have to deliver this news to you but I killed all of your guys.” He widened his grin, showing far too much teeth. His eyes were sharp and taunting, and his voice was just a note shy of snide. “Oh, by the way… I don’t take too kindly to being kidnapped. I may not be Earth’s strongest Avenger, but I’m still an Avenger.” He tried to fight against the heat he felt flare up inside of him in anger. He certainly wasn’t an Avenger, and probably never was.

“That being said, I’ve got some avenging to do. Watch your back asshole, because you’re next.” He noticed the alien’s eyes widen slightly.

“You… killed Scurtch?” He breathed out, and Tony rolled his eyes entirely bored.

“Yes, we’ve been over that. He’s dead. His crew is dead. You are next. What about this don’t you get?” He didn’t wait for Krugarr to answer before he smirked wickedly and said “but don’t worry, your death won’t be nearly as painful as his was. Asphyxiation isn’t a fun way to go, trust me I know.” He winked before ending the call there.

“Boss, why did you just taunt the alien group that kidnapped you?” FRIDAY’s voice was rather stiff, as though she were holding back her anger.

“Because they’re going to send people after me… which means they’re going to send me a ship.” Tony offered her a weak smile. He was honestly scared out of his wits, but it was the best plan he could come up with on the spot. He wanted to go home, and he would stop at nothing to get there. If it meant he had to wage war on an entire group of space terrorists, so be it.

“I do not like this plan.” FRIDAY sounded rather displeased. Tony nodded in agreeance.

“Yeah, me neither… but hey! It’s still a plan!” He winked at her as he fiddled with the communicator again. “Do you think we can reach Pepper or Rhodey with this?” He asked.

“I believe you can send a message, but I do not think you will be able to call them.” He knew FRIDAY was right; he had done the math himself. Earth wasn’t advanced enough to properly communicate with this tech. All it could really do was receive a shitty message and attempt to decode it. He hoped that they would manage well enough, considering they probably thought he was dead.

“Alright, then lets give this thing a go.” He turned the communicator on, and pressed a couple of buttons. Once he was sure a message was being recorded, he smiled. “Hey to whomever gets this. Well, it’s a short list of three, but…” He shrugged. “Anyways, I’m alive and well and stranded on an alien planet. I don’t know how long it’ll take me to get home, but I will. I’m working on it, and FRIDAY’s been godsend.”

“I try my best boss.” She perked up at her mention. Tony smiled at her.

“We have a plan-“

“Youhave a plan. I did not agree to this plan. I think it’s a bad plan.” She interrupted him, and he knew she’d be glaring at him if she could.

“Okay, it might not be the best plan, but it’s a plan!” He laughed easily, knowing he’d never grow tired of FRIDAY’s overprotectiveness. “Anyways, there’s a plan and I’m sure it’ll work out. In the meantime, I’ll keep trying to send these. I won’t know if you get them, but if you do then don’t worry. I’m okay, and I’m alive.” He paused, looking to the side as he tapped on his reactor nervously. “Uh, thanks for saving me in Siberia. Extremis worked, as you can see. I’m sure you have a vague idea of what happened, and I’m sorry I made you worry.” He sighed and forced on a smile. “I can’t wait to see all of you again! Tell the twerps I said hi and to do their homework.” He ended the call and immediately let his smile drop.

“Are you okay boss?” FRIDAY asked, placing a metal hand on his shoulder. It was odd, Tony mused, to have FRIDAY physically interact with him in this manner. She’s always been there for him, and she manages his home the best way she can, but she’s never been able to touch him or hold him. It’s nice that she’s growing in this way, an opportunity her brother did not have. Perhaps he should adjust the armor to make it more personalized to her.

“I’m just homesick.” His heart ached for those he called family. “But I can’t help but think it might be a good thing that I was taken from Earth.” He admitted. “I want nothing more than to track down Cap and give him a peace of my mind, but at the same time the thought alone terrifies me. I don’t get that option here, and the best part is that I can’t explode on anyone…” He laughed bitterly.

“I do not regret injecting Extremis in you boss. I regret the circumstances that brought us to that necessity.” FRIDAY said sternly. “I refuse to live in a universe where you do not exist.” Tony offered her a small smile at that.

“How do you feel about a personalized armor?” Tony asked instead of answering her.

“I care only for my function of serving you.” FRIDAY paused for a moment. “I rather like the colors blue and silver.” Tony’s smile grew.

“Day thirty five. There’s been no news from Krugs, but, then again, I’m not really expecting anything less than an army raining down from the skies to try and take FRIDAY and I down. I’m still building the outside of the ship, but it’s looking good. I found some paper -I know… disgusting- and a pen, and now it’s become my to do list. For someone who’s stranded on an alien planet, it’s annoyingly long. I’ve tried flying through the forest to see if there’s any civilization but no cigar.” He sighed. “If there are sentient living organisms in this planet, then they must be far away.”

“Day thirty seven. The rain in this planet is freezing cold, and I don’t get it. All water sources are warm to the touch, but the rain is bellow zero.” He shivered from underneath the metal roof of his makeshift room. Even with Extremis heating him up, the cold still bothered him. “Why isn’t the water snow? Or hail? It makes no sense! Does the lower atmosphere warm it up enough to melt it but not enough to make it not cold as ice? I really miss my lab.”

“Day forty. Ten days since I talked to the greaser leader, and still nothing. I’m starting to think I’m being stood up!” He sounded put out. “I wish I hadn’t had a panic attack and subsequently crashed the ship.” He put down the hammer he was working with and looked at the beginnings of the pilot cabin. He really needed more parts, but he’d make do. “Okay, I’m going for a walk.” He said with finality and stood up. “Video end, FRIDAY lets look for something new.”

“Day fifty. I’ve somehow acquired a space cat.” Tony said whimsically, still trying to wrap his head around how that one happened. He and animals had an unspoken agreement of never interfering with each other’s life. Tony might love dogs and think cats are cute, but just like with children, he knows he’d be horrible if he was ever charged with taking care of one. Animals, on the other hand, probably knew there was something odd about him and tended to avoid him like the plague. It might also be because he constantly smells of motor oil and metal, but Tony refuses to believe it’s anything other than the fact that he’s horrible with animals.

So it felt moderately weird to have this monster cat with pretty brown fur cuddle against him peacefully. The cat was stupidly gigantic, almost a little bigger than a horse, and reminded him of saber-tooth tiger. Except she (at least Tony was pretty sure it was a she) had two long twin tails with long smooth fur at the end of it similar to a lion’s.

He had met her while adventuring further into the woods on the fortieth day. She was injured, and had something kindred to a bear trap on her leg. Tony, of course, was immediately interested and wanted to help the big cat out. He was only incredibly terrified by it’s angry growls. “FRIDAY, what should I do?” He had whispered to the suit of armor beside him.

“I suggest turn around and walk away, but, seeing as though you have no sense of self preservation, you should show it that you mean no harm.” FRIDAY had quipped at him. Tony knew she wouldn’t let any harm come to him, and he knew she knew she could protect him, so he wasn’t too worried.

“Alright, how do I do that?” FRIDAY had supplied him with a couple of tips from some animal lovers’ website that she happened to peruse on one dull evening. Apparently even A.I.s could get bored and aimlessly browse the net if they didn’t have enough to do. What ensued would be a hilarious chain of events where Tony tried to simultaneously pretend he wasn’t a threat and also not be afraid as he approached the cat. The slightest growl would send him ten feet away, though.

“Okay Diego, calm the fuck down.” He said once when he was starting to feel irritated. He’d been at it for about an hour now, with no progress. It was so stupid, he should just leave the dumb cat here to suffer… except he knew he couldn’t, wouldn’t do that. He hated seeing others in pain, and he hated not doing anything if he knew he could help. What was it that the kid said to him? It’s your fault if you have the power to stop the bad things from happening, but don’t? Something like that… Those were wise words for a twerp.

“I’m tired, so I’m going to go ahead and sit down.” He explained to the overgrown cat, sitting on a tree relatively close to it (but not too close). He hoped him telling the cat what he was doing would make it more at ease, even if she didn’t understand him. The feline, thankfully (or perhaps not) was too injured to move, so she didn’t. She was just lying there with bleeding through several cuts on her body, most superficial but some troubling, and the bear-trap on her leg. It was no wonder she was cautious of Tony, even if he retracted the armor.

“Okay, so you having those injuries means there are other living organisms here that have to be intelligent enough to make traps.” He started, eyeing the trap on her leg and then moving to the injuries on her body. “And cruel enough to make it a game to hunt you.” He heard FRIDAY hum with a metallic sound behind him. “Now, the question is, are they smart enough to build space ships? And are they stupid enough to fight me?” He continued to talk to the cat about everything and nothing. He didn’t know why he was doing this, honestly. Was it because he was so used to just talking about random things with JARVIS and FRIDAY? Was it because he missed speaking to someone else? Someone who wasn’t FRIDAY? Was it because he felt bad for the injured animal a few feet away from him? Regardless of the reason, he did it. Eventually the big cat stopped being on edge around him, and even rested a bit. She would still growl whenever Tony did something she didn’t like, but hummed pleasantly when he immediately backed off.

Eventually, though, Tony would have to go. As much as he might like wasting precious daylight talking to a cat, he had a spaceship to build and a home to return to. He gave the feline one last smile before beginning to walk away. It was surprising when he heard her whimper. He turned around, and stared at her bright golden eyes that seemed to stare right back. She didn’t want to be left alone. He gave her a small smile, followed by a promise. “I’ll be back.”

And the very next day, he was. He had brought food with him this time too. FRIDAY had volunteered to stay back and try to make more components for the engine so that he wouldn’t be wasting too much time. She said something about how animals can make a person feel more happiness, or something dumb like that… Tony begrudgingly agreed though. He hated what was done to this animal, but he did feel a sense of delight to be able to assist it. He liked taking care of things, go figure.

The cat stared at him with her large feline eyes, hesitance still present. She definitely wasn’t happy to see him, but she wasn’t annoyed either… At least, that’s what Tony thought; but, then again, he was no animal guru. He smiled at her though, and chucked a piece of meat her way. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate him trying to get close to her, so the distance game it was.

That’s how the next three days played out. Tony would come with something for the beast to eat, something for him to eat (courtesy of FRIDAY’s endless chastising), and something for him to tinker with. He would chat endlessly about everything and nothing and watch as the wounds on the animal healed. They healed faster than he had expected, but not nearly as fast as he did now that he had Extremis. By the third day, though, the only wound was the bear trap that was still stuck on her leg. He needed to fix that.

“Okay, so here’s how this is going to go, I’m going to go over there nice and slow and I’m going to get rid of that,” he pointed at the trap, “for you and you aren’t going to bite my face off.” He smiled cheerfully; knowing full well the animal probably didn’t understand him. So, he did as he said. He walked slowly, so agonizingly slowly, and as nonthreatening as possible. His eyes were locked with the cat, which was growling softly. It wasn’t really discouraging, but it wasn’t very encouraging either. He kept speaking idly, a soft tone in his voice. Eventually, he was the closest he’s ever been to the feline, and his face was still intact.

They were eyeing each other now, both still as statues. Soon, Tony began to gradually move towards the bear trap, but a growl had him stop. He sighed, and started to walk away again. “Another time then.” He mumbled, but another growl had him stop yet again. “Okay, you’re giving me mixed signals here Garfield.” He turned around with a raised brow, and the stupid cat had the audacity to huff. With a frown, Tony walked closer and tried to reach for the trap, another growl. He tried to walk away, growl. He gave up trying to understand the cat and just sat down; grabbing whatever device he brought to mess with and started fiddling with it again.

The next day was much the same except, for some reason, when he went to sit down next to the alien cat she nuzzled her head against his arm. At first he froze, momentarily afraid he’d have to see if Extremis could really regrow a limb, but then he realized what was happening. She wanted him to pet her. So he did. She still wouldn’t let him near the trap, though.

It was on the sixth take-care-of-the-stupid-cat day that the hunters finally found her. Tony had just handed her some more food, before his enhanced senses heard a series of footsteps. The not-so-pink panther had stilled once she heard them as well, growling lowly like she had when Tony had first found her. Tony was immediately ready to call on the suit as he waited for them to show up.

The hunters weren’t anything like Tony had expected; for some reason, he immediately started thinking of Clayton from Tarzan when he thought about what they would look like. He fully blamed Rhodey for this, considering the man had him suffer through a Disney marathon right before the Accords. No, the hunters looked nothing like Clayton from Tarzan; instead they looked a bit more like the Predator if the Predator was based off of dogs. It was impressive how much he wanted to pet their ears right now, but he refrained himself.

“Hey there.” Tony said simply enough. They were a party of three stocked to the brim with weird primitive-looking tech that looked like it was used for hunting. They were looking at Tony incredulously, probably not expecting some weird human (terran, was it?) to be feeding their quarry. “For the record, I claim dibs.” Immediately after he said this, one of the three raised a weapon, and immediately after that the suit was activated and a nanobot shield was up. It was a pleasant surprise to find that whatever it was that the alien shot him with could be held back by his armor. Then again, he wasn’t much surprised considering he was the one who built it. Who needs modesty anyways?

“Okay Scrappy Doo, it seems someone needs to teach you some manners.” Tony huffed out, and fired a reactor beam at the alien who shot him. The alien hissed at him, and shot again. This time, the shot was aimed for the cat, but Tony deflected that one too. “Like I said, dibs.”

It didn’t take long for him to deal with the aliens. He had incapacitated them, not killed. They were hunters, assholes, but not warriors. They didn’t come here specifically to kill Tony, but rather to be dickheads and hunt a poor animal for shits and giggles and leave it to bleed out. It had been a bit pleasing to hunt them in turn through the forest, and he hoped it would teach them a lesson not to hunt for fun. After this incident, the big meow finally let Tony take off the bear trap (whether it was because of fear or trust Tony couldn’t say). The moment it was gone, so was the cat.

Tony would admit to being a bit disappointed that this was the end of his adventures with Hello Kitty, but he had accomplished his mission to help her out -that is until two days later when she showed up with a dead… something in her mouth while he was in the middle of building one of the rocket boosters. Tony had absolutely no idea what to make of that, until FRIDAY mentioned that this might be the equivalent of a cat bringing in a dead mouse as a gift.

“Now she comes and goes as she pleases.” He huffed out at the recording. “She brings dead things and then glares at me until I pet her and eat it.” He wasn’t too worried about getting a stomach ache if whatever she brought him had bacteria or whatever, considering Extremis was keeping him healthy at all times, but he had to admit it tasted awful when raw. That was when he started training more with Extremis to try and see if he could at least cook the meat with his hands before he put it in his mouth. “I decided to call her Some Alien Monster Meow Yonder, or Sammy for short.” He grinned brightly towards the suit FRIDAY was using to record this. “In other news though, those jackass hunters had some really nifty parts I can use for the engine! I mean, it was crude and underdeveloped, but with just the right amount of tinkering and a bit of my flare… boom! Engine part.” He had debated trying to find their civilization and see if he could get more stuff to build the engine with, but in the end decided against it.

Considering the fact that they had yet to discover him, it meant that they weren’t developed enough to ruminate space travel. Had this happened on Earth, even if it did so in the most discreet of areas, then the media would be all over it in a matter of seconds. And, also taking what they used to hunt into deliberation, it really didn’t seem like they were that advanced. Maybe they might’ve just been hunter-gatherers? Whatever the case, Tony wouldn’t get much from them and he might accidentally expose himself to unnecessary danger. It was all high risk and low reward. FRIDAY agreed with him, and was thankful that he wasn’t being reckless about things for once. He simply huffed at her and gave her an eye roll in response.

The days kept on going, and so did he. He would build and build and build, occasionally eat and sleep whenever FRIDAY or Sammy pestered him, and he’d send messages to Pepper, Rhodey, Peter, Happy, Vision, or Harley. He didn’t know why he sent things to Vision, considering the two had rarely spoken before, but he felt it would be wrong not to, especially since Vis ended up supporting him on the whole Accords debacle.

“Hey Rhodey, this one is for you.” It was day 60 now, and he was starting to grow tired of being stuck in an alien planet. Three months had passed, just like Afghanistan. Unlike Afghanistan though, he was still here. “I know I’ve apologized at least fifty thousand times, and I know you’re probably yelling at me to stop, but I really am sorry for what happened to your legs. I know I had the best doctors take care of you, and I know they said you’d never walk again… Well, fuck that. I’m sorry it took me this long, but I was having issues with figuring out how to send digital images with this communicator. If you haven’t figured it out by now, which you probably have because you’re so smart Cookie Crunch, I’m sending in blue prints for how to build some braces. They won’t be pretty, but you’ll walk again. Have someone look at them -and don’t you fucking dare pick Hammer, there are plenty of smart minions down in SI’s R&D- and build them for you.”

“Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater.” Tony sighed, closing his eyes. It was day 68. “You best not be getting yourself into any trouble, you hear me?” He thought for a moment, remembering Peter’s brilliant smile and excitable nature. “I know you don’t know me very well, kid, but know that I think you’re going to make an amazing hero some day. Don’t push yourself until you break like I do, don’t force yourself to do the impossible just because you think you have to. You’re still a kid, so enjoy your life. Help those you can, and do your best with those you can’t… but don’t get yourself hurt or killed. Tell Rhodey I’m counting on him to mentor you in my stead, and please listen to him. You’re a good kid, Pete.”

“Harls, I’m sorry I won’t make it to this year’s science fair. I’m sure your potato gun would win. I was really excited for it, I swear, but…” He sighed. “Take care of your mom and sister for me alright? And take care of yourself too. When I get back, I want to know all the juicy gossip that’s happening with you twerp.”

“Pep, I swear I won’t try to walk away from the lecture I know you’re going to give me if I… when I get back.” He caught himself in the middle of a mistake. He was starting to lose hope, but he refused to let the others believe know it. The Ravagers still hadn’t shown up and it’s been an entire month since his supposed death threat. He wondered if it was because space travel took time, or if it was because they didn’t want to mess with him. Maybe he shouldn’t have tried to threaten them, or maybe he should have threatened more. He didn’t know. Either way, they weren’t here and he was still missing parts for the mostly complete ship. It was small and probably wouldn’t make for a comfortable travel ship, but he only needed it to get to home, or at least to a more advanced planet with actual decent ships he could do his best to ‘borrow’. “I’m glad we broke things off when we did, now that I think about it. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure the lecture would be even worse.” He tried to joke, but it fell flat. He felt a sudden heaviness weigh down on him. “Be happy, Pep. Don’t wait for me to get back. I have no idea how long I’ll take.” He hummed softly, knowing she’d probably be crying by now. He needed her to know this though; he needed her to know he didn’t expect her to wait for him forever. She deserved to be happy. “I’ll come back, I will… but I don’t want you to wait. Find someone who you can love, and someone who makes you happy and loves you back… and someone who doesn’t drive you as crazy as I do.” He chuckled softly. “I love you Pep, you are family… one way or another.” He could practically see her shaky smile and hear the sigh of relief. She would wait for him like she had promised before, because she was amazing like that, but now she knew she didn’t have to. She knew she could move on without guilt.

“So, for several long years I’ve been perfectly fine and dandy living whatever life I was living and nothing happened. Then, the one year I decide you should stop being my bodyguard and become head of SI’s security instead, I get kidnapped. Happy, I’m pretty sure that’s a testament to how brutally efficient you are at your job. When I get back, I demand cheeseburgers.” He huffed out. “And I want my bodyguard back! Seriously, best…” He trailed off when he saw something odd on the sky. FRIDAY had seen it too, and was already preparing herself to take off. “Well, it seems I’m finally going to get my engine parts.” He felt himself grin viciously. It was finally time to take down some alien terrorists. “Sorry to cut this short Happy, but tell everyone I said hi!” He quickly sent out the transmission and tapped on the reactor, willing the suit to come out.

“Look alive baby girl,” he looked at the ship coming closer and closer to the ground, “it’s show time.”

Chapter Text

Some time ago in another galaxy far, far away, the Guardians of the Galaxy (so far composed of several idiots, an assassin, a raccoon and a tree) sat down in a Ravager establishment where they ordered drinks and talked amiably amongst themselves. “Good job, guys.” Their leader, an energetic man known as Peter, said with a cheerful voice.

“If you think nearly dying to alien death dogs with surprisingly shit aim a good job, then I’ll think something’s wrong with your brain.” A small raccoon bit out, and then grinned. “Oh wait, I already think that.”

“Fuck you too Rocket.” Peter frowned. “We didn’t die, and we got the reward. So, job well done.” He shrugged and immediately paid more attention to the drink placed in front of him. A cold… whatever this is… is exactly what he needed after a long job.

“Rocket has a point, we need to be more efficient.” Gamora, their friendly neighborhood assassin assessed, said. “We can’t assume we’re always going to get lucky.” She too grabbed her drink, scrutinizing it before drinking.

“Luck hasn’t failed me so far.” Peter told her. It was a weak argument, and he was sure to hear an earful later, but right now he couldn’t care less about anything but whatever it was he was consuming. He hoped it had alcohol in it and, like he said, his luck hasn’t failed him this far.

“You have your luck,” Drax, the largest of the group, started to say with fervor, “but I have my skill. I will slide my finger across my neck against all of our foes.” Peter couldn’t help but laugh at that one. It was nice that Drax was trying, but it was still hilarious. Looking to his side, he could see Gamora was doing her best to hide her smile.

“Yes, we will kick names and take asses!” Mantis chimed in with a bright, awkward smile.

“You are a bunch of idiots.” Rocket huffed out with an eye roll. “If it wasn’t for Groot, you would have fallen off the arena and into the dog pit.” He had a point, that much Peter could admit. It was really a close call for a bunch of them, so he didn’t misjudge Rocket and Gamora’s concern. He’d have to do better next time… Theyhad to do better next time. Right now, though, they were alive and well and currently rich, so he was content where he was.

He was about to open his mouth and say something (probably stupid) to try calm everyone down, but before he could, someone slammed open the doors into the establishment as they ran in. “Turn on the radio!” He shouted to the bartender. Everyone’s eyes were focused on this intruder with interest. He was probably a messenger someone sent over from one of the many Ravager ships parked outside. “Krugarr made contact with the rogue Ravagers!” Peter turned his head to look at the bartender with interest. Technically, he wasn’t a Ravager, but his relation to Yonduu made him an honorary one now. He wished he had thought to take Yonduu to one of these establishments before the bluer man died.

“Right.” The burly man behind the bar set down the glass he was polishing and leisurely walked towards the radio. He then turned it on with a click, and resumed his previous duties.

The first voice Peter heard was Krugarr’s, one of Yonduu’s old friends and fellow leader. “Ravager Leader Scurtch, this is Ravager Leader Krugarr speaking. You have directly violated Xander’s no contact with Terra rule as well as the Ravager’s unanimous vote to ignore requests from the Mad Titan. Explain yourself.” His voice was as strong as he remembered it being, and carried well throughout the now silent room.

The next voice, however, was completely new. It didn’t resemble Scurtch in the slightest. It didn’t sound slimy and arrogant… no, actually it did sound pretty arrogant; it was a different kind of arrogant though. Where Scurtch’s arrogance came from wielding power, this one came from having earned it. “Hey there Krugs, I’m sorry but you’re speaking to one Tony Stark from Earth… You know? The guy you kidnapped?” Peter frowned, wondering when Ravagers started kidnapping other terrans. “Well, anyways, sorry to have to deliver this news to you but I killed all of your guys.” He widened his eyes in shock. Since when did Terra have the power to kill an entire ship of Ravagers? He remembered the rumors he heard about the Chitauri invasion, but those couldn’t have been true. Now he began wondering if they were. Did Terra really stop an invasion from Thanos? “Oh, by the way… I don’t take too kindly to being kidnapped. I may not be Earth’s strongest Avenger, but I’m still an Avenger.” Terra had people stronger than this guy? Just how advanced had that backwater planet gotten?

Peter looked to Gamora, and noticed her steady gaze on him as well. He then knew she was already planning to do something with this information, just what it was he wasn’t sure but he knew he probably wouldn’t like it. The voice spoke again, sounding just as cutting and haughty as before, if not more so.

“That being said, I’ve got some avenging to do. Watch your back asshole, because you’re next.” Peter had to give it to the guy, he knew how to put on a show and terrify everyone. Looking around the bar, everyone’s eyes were widened with different levels of fear that they were truly the next targets on this man’s warpath.

“You… killed Scurtch?” Krugarr’s strong voice was weaker, softer and raw. Even he was affected by this man’s threat. Just who was this guy?

“Yes, we’ve been over that. He’s dead. His crew is dead. You are next. What about this don’t you get?” Peter almost chuckled at that, if it wasn’t for the context. The guy was kind of funny, if you looked past the whole ‘I’m going to kill you’ bit he was doing. “But don’t worry, your death won’t be nearly as painful as his was. Asphyxiation isn’t a fun way to go, trust me I know.” At that, Peter frowned. How the fuck would this guy know what death by asphyxiation felt like. Was he asphyxiated while he was captured? Or did he mean to say the rogue Ravagers were asphyxiated? Just how did he asphyxiate every single crewmember to death? Did he go to them one by one? Why didn’t anyone stop him? Or maybe he captured them all first and then asphyxiated them.

This guy was hardcore if not a bit disturbing.

“Shit.” He heard Krugarr mutter before ending his own line. The man was probably worried to death now that some apparently super-powered entity from Terra was out for blood. Peter shrugged off the entire conversation, deciding it would be for the better if he and his weren’t involved in whatever this bullshit was. Yonduu liked these guys, but, like he said many times, you’re on your own kid. Except this time kid meant other Ravager factions. He’d enjoy the drinks while he could though.

“We have to recruit him.” Gamora whispered suddenly, and Peter would have thought she was joking if not for the incredibly serious expression on her face. Actually, Peter thought she was joking anyways, considering she always had an incredibly serious expression on her face. He laughed, and got punched in the arm for it. He did a double take when he realized she actually was being serious.

“You don’t actually mean that, do you?” Peter asked with a frown. Gamora looked at him unimpressed. “Well shit, you actually mean that.” He took a moment to take a deep breath. “Gamora, don’t punch me, but have you gone insane?” Gamora punched him again.

“We need to go talk about this.” She quickly paid for their drinks and got up to leave, staring impatiently at Peter for him to follow her. He stared at her, chucked his drink, and finally stood up to follow her.

“Come on Quill, stop lagging behind.” Rocket grinned, already by Gamora’s side with Groot on his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.” Peter huffed out petulantly, and, in a quieter tone, he mumbled “I would rather be getting drunk now but whatever.” It didn’t take too long before they were back in the ship, the only ones who stayed behind were Drax and Mantis, who probably couldn’t care less about anything that was happening. “So, why do you think it’s a good idea to recruit some nut job who just threatened the entirety of the Ravagers?”

“Yeah, we already got one useless hummie, why do we need another?” Rocket added, crossing his arms and looking up expectantly at Gamora. Before Peter could take offense, Rocket continued talking. “Also, I just want it to be known that I think this is a bad idea.”

“He said his name was Tony Stark.” Gamora supplied, as if that made all the sense in the universe. She did easily ignore the second part of Rocket’s statement though.

“And that’s relevant because…”

“Thanos tried to invade Terra once, and nearly succeeded. He had brainwashed an Asgardian and had an entire army of Chitauri ready for his invasion, but he was stopped by one singular man who went through the portal and killed every single Chitauri ship in sight. Thanos mentioned his name once, and his name was Tony Stark.”

“Well fuck.” Peter groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Do we really have to?”

“Yes. He’s bested Thanos once, and stalled his progress by a lot; a feat no one has accomplished before. He’d be a good asset to have.” Gamora insisted, and Peter knew she was right. Some day, he knew the Guardians would have to face off against Gamora’s father. It was something not only Gamora wanted, but also Drax. Peter cared deeply for Gamora, even if they were just friends, just as he cared for Drax. He’d fight with them and for them, and he wasn’t above using whatever trick he had to win. If that meant recruiting some homicidal dude, then fine. They were all ex-convicts anyways, so what’s one more loony in the bin?

“Can I just mention how he threatened to kill every single Ravager?” Peter tried as a last-ditch effort, but even he knew his attempt was weak.

“He did just get kidnapped, so I can imagine he’d be pretty pissed.” Rocket had a point. The raccoon then looked directly at Gamora with promise in his eyes. “But I have to say this, if he’s anything like Quill then I might end up shooting him.” Peter frowned at Rocket. “I can only handle one of you.” Rocket shrugged, and already made his way towards the engine room. It seemed like he was fine with taking in that terran too.

It turns out that the Ravager’s exemplary decision on how to deal with this new threat was to absolutely ignore it until they couldn’t. It made sense, really. How was one man from Terra going to find scattered groups of trained thieves and scoundrels? The most the Ravagers had to do was make sure they were more secure, and that’s about it. They wouldn’t seek out the terran unless there was no other choice, or if they wanted to prove their strength. There was also Thanos’ bounty on that man’s head, apparently, but not even that was enough to get people to play with fire. Probably.

Ravagers had a tendency to do what they say they won’t do, so it really was up in the air. Regardless of what they did though, the Guardians were now going to have to convince a pissed off terran not to kill them and actually join them instead. Peter was really looking forward to that.

Thankfully, it took some time to actually find the terran. Scurtch had some weird paranoia that someone was watching him and listening to him, so he found a way to mess with his communicator’s transmitter. It took some time, but Rocket had finally figured out how to decode it and he found out where the call took place. The only problem was that it would also take some time to get to that location, and they already spent a stupid amount of time trying to find it in the first place. There was no guarantee that the terran would still be there, but it’s all they had to go off of. Well, if they didn’t find this guy then at least Peter could say they tried.

“You have got to be shitting me.” Rocket mumbled when he saw the planet the transmission came from, and Peter couldn’t help but agree with him. He hated this plan more and more as time passed. He hoped no one was currently in that planet, or they might be screwed.

“Let’s go.” Gamora insisted in her no-nonsense tone of voice. She was clearly not going to accept any debate against going there to look for the terran, but even Peter could tell there was a hint of worry in her voice.

“Alright, so what’s the plan?” Peter asked, looking at all of his fellow guardians. “We want to seem as friendly as possibly right? Maybe we should go and buy the guy some flowers or something?”

“You are not getting out of this Quill.” Gamora sniped. “But you are right, we want to seem friendly. So, don’t go in with your guns in hand. Have them, as a safety precaution, but don’t have them out.” Everyone nodded in agreement, and soon they were on their way to try and befriend another terran.

Despite his worry, Peter had to admit he was a bit excited by the prospect of meeting someone else from his home planet. He just hoped the guy wasn’t actually blood thirsty and deadly, well, at least not towards the Guardians.

Elsewhere, Tony watched as the ship landed easily on a piece of flatland. It was odd how they hadn’t begun to shoot, and also how that ship seemed considerably smaller than the other one he had been kidnapped in. He was even more mystified when he noticed the cargo doors open and a group of rather diverse individuals (including a raccoon and a tree?) sauntered out. They looked alert, but also reluctant to go in guns blazing. Why weren’t they trying to find him and shoot him? Did they need him alive?

“FRIDAY?” Tony whispered into his coms, and he immediately saw the older Iron Man armor shoot to the sky and land in front of the aliens. He just absolutely adored how his baby girl understood what he needed before he even said anything.

“State your name and purpose.” Tony heard her say through the coms the moment she reached the aliens. He saw her raise both repulsors at the group threateningly, and he couldn’t help but wonder when it was that she had become so vicious. Had it been when he was kidnapped? Or was it after Siberia? He noticed the group respond with taking out their own weapons, but FRIDAY simply exposed some of the hidden weapons he had implemented into the suit. Tiny rocket launchers really do a good job at scaring people, he mused.

“Hey! Please don’t shoot us. I’m Star Lord and this is my crew. Together we are the Guardians of the Galaxy and we’d really, truly appreciate it if you didn’t shoot us.” The man in the middle, Star Lord, said with both hands up in a gesture of surrender. He had a mask on, so Tony relied on his body language to see if he was being honest.

“Purpose.” She snarled, sounding absolutely terrifying. If Tony didn’t know her and love her with all of his heart, he himself might’ve been scared witless.

“We are here to talk to the man from the call. We heard it broadcasted through the radio transmissions and came to find him.” The green woman to the right of Star Lord explained. She had gorgeous hair that flowed from black to red and easily put Natasha’s own red to shame. That brought a pang of sadness to his heart, quickly followed by one of fury. He forced it down, though. There was no need to burn down the forest because of a temper tantrum caused by red hair.

“Why?” FRIDAY turned her head to look at the woman, giving Tony a clear view through their connected display. He then noticed that her hair wasn’t the only thing the woman had similar to Natasha. They both had an air of mystique to them, added with a fearsome and piercing gaze that could probably see right through you. Both carried themselves with the confidence of a skilled fighter, and the sword on her hand coupled with the guns on her holsters made that fact even more apparent. Tony realized he’d have to be really careful with that one.

“He took down Thanos’ invading army and escaped the Ravagers that took him, both are no easy feat. We wish to ask for his aid against Thanos.” Not-Natasha said incredibly matter-of-factly. Tony believed her. FRIDAY wasn’t convinced.

“You are not here to continue what the Ravagers started?” She asked carefully.

“Hell no. That Ravager faction he took down had gone rogue, but I’ll admit he has the other Ravagers scared shitless.” Star Lord said easily. Tony couldn’t help but feel a little bit smug about that.

“Okay FRI, make room.” Tony started his repulsors and flew to where FRIDAY had the aliens cornered before she could refute him. He landed with a satisfying thud (in his classic three point stance of course) beside FRIDAY, and slowly lifted himself into a standing position if only for the dramatics. He really did love putting on a show. “You called for me?” He made sure to sound as imposing as possible, not wanting to show any possible weakness.

“You’re a robot.” Star Lord sounded affronted. “Not a human?”

“Oh, I’m human alright.” Tony couldn’t help the vicious grin that formed on his face. “But I’m still more than capable of kicking your ass, please give me a reason.” It was nice seeing the man recoil a little bit. On the other hand, the big guy with gray-not-green skin seemed to perk up.

“We do not wish to fight you, we wish to recruit you.” Green girl spoke again, her voice just as firm and confident as before. Gray-not-green looked disappointed now. He must like to fight almost as much as Hulk likes to smash.

“Let me get this straight, you saw the message I sent threatening to murder an entire group of space greasers, who are kidnappers and maybe terrorists, and your immediate thought was ‘oh yes, I would like that one in my ship where I eat, sleep and live my daily life in’?” Tony deadpanned. “Does that sound right?”

“Well, when you put it that way it does sound like a bad idea.” Star boy huffed looking at not-Natasha.

“Told you.” The raccoon spoke up. The raccoon spoke up?? Tony looked at him, observing the big gun (incredibly bigger than his small body) he held and the clothes he wore. Of course the raccoon could speak. This is space, and space doesn’t like making sense. Tony closed his eyes momentarily and forced himself to move past that one. “You’re just filled with dumb ideas.”

“Recruiting someone who has defeated Thanos once already isn’t a bad idea.” The green woman retorted.

“No, you’re going to have to trust me on this. I’m a terrible idea.” Tony piped up with a smug smile. He noticed Star stifle a laugh, and Not-Natasha roll her eyes. The raccoon just grunted in exasperation.

“Boss, you’re the best idea.” FRIDAY cooed.

“And your flattery will get you everywhere FRI.” Tony looked at the aliens again, and thought for a moment. He had to admit he was curious as to why they would want him on his team. He didn’t even know who Thanos was, but maybe they meant the Chitauri? He needed to get as much information as he could. Firstly, he needed to know whom he was dealing with… in all fronts, really. “So who are you people, anyways?” Tony said, making sure to sound flippant and humorous, even if he felt wary. “And who’s Thanos? Was he the one behind the Chitauri?”

“I’m Star Lord! Also known as Peter Quill!” Star said, tapping on the side of his helmet and retracting it to reveal a charming smile. Tony was almost impressed. “This lovely lady is Gamora. Behind her is Drax the Destroyer. In the ship is another lovely lady known as Mantis. Fur ball down there is Rocket, and the tree is Groot.” Tony blinked, and looked down. He hadn’t noticed the tree thing on the raccoon’s shoulder since he was too preoccupied by the gun he was holding.

“Thanos, also known as the Mad Titan, is a man enamored with Death and the idea of balance. He plans on killing half the universe, as an attempt to spare life while also giving Death a gift.” Tony blinked as Gamora talked.

“Emphasis on mad.” He mumbled, pushing down the bubbling panic. He’d have to think this through later. “And how does he intend on achieving his big halfsies shebang with life and death?”

“Using the infinity stones.” Gamora supplied, not blinking once. Yeah, Tony would definitely have to be careful with that one. She was far too like Nat for his liking. Was Nat still a friend? Probably not, Tony sighed. So, Romanoff it was. Regardless of his inner turmoil, Gamora was still too similar to Romanoff. “There are six total. They are known as the space stone, time stone, power stone, reality stone, mind stone and soul stone.” Two out of the six sounded very familiar. “Together, they could undo the universe itself. Killing half of its inhabitants is child’s play in comparison.”

“Oh jolly. That’s what I like to hear on a casual Tuesday night.” Tony took a deep inhale; feeling rather glad his armor was shielding all of his natural responses. “So, are you here for the human or the weapon?” Tony heard himself ask before he could stop himself. He already knew the answer, but he still held out some pointless hope. These people came to seek out someone to fight for them, not with them. They wanted him to deal with Thanos, like he supposedly had four years prior, not someone to be with them as a member of the team. It was probably going to be just like the Avengers.

He noticed the Guardians look at each other in confusion. “We’re here for Stark, if that isn’t you then we’d like to know where he is.” Quill said slowly. Tony was pretty sure he already revealed himself to being the droid they were looking for.

“And you are the captain?” Tony asked instead of answering, pointedly eyeing Quill up and down. Since he was still in the suit, he even tilted his head in the motion just to get the point across. He did love his theatrics.

“Yeah, that would be me.” Star grinned happily; glad someone is recognizing his position and completely oblivious to the judgmental stare.

“Figures. It’s usually the idiots that get the position of captain.” Tony tells FRIDAY as a matter of fact. “Avengers case and point.”

“Aptly put.” FRIDAY agreed easily, she harbored a strong sense of resentment for what Captain Rogers did to her boss.

“Oh I really like this one!” Rocket let out a wide grin and Quill frowned at him.

“Were you really the one who destroyed Thanos’ fleet?” Gamora asked, hand still near her blade. FRIDAY’s repulsor immediately turned to face her.

“And you are certain you aren’t here to continue what the Ravagers failed to do?” She asked before Tony could get a word in. He was so proud of his girl, and also felt a bit emotional with how protective she seemed to be of him.

“No!” Quill quickly raised both his hands again in defense. “No, absolutely not! We’re here to see if you’d like a team up! That’s all! We hate Thanos, you hate Thanos… it seems like we’d go well together don’t you think?”

“So then you’re here to talk to Iron Man.” Tony murmured, not really surprised. Tony Stark no, Iron Man yes was still fresh in his mind. “Alright, well. In that case, I’m Iron Man, protector of Earth and the only sensible Avenger of the original six it seems.” Maybe he was harboring resentment himself, but could anyone honestly blame him?

“That’s an odd name for a Terran... Wait, you have two names?” Quill frowned. “Did Terra really change that much?”

“Iron Man is more of a moniker,” Tony shrugged in response, “one I took up when I donned the suit. Not to mention, Star Lord doesn’t seem like much of a name either.” Quill gave him that with a begrudging nod. “Anyways, since you’re unfortunately not here to kill me, I’m going to go back to doing more important things.” He started to turn around, trusting FRIDAY could deal with them easily. He’d still keep an eye out for her, but they didn’t seem hostile and he didn’t want to waste energy on them.

“Unfortunately?” Gamora raised a brow. “The broadcast you sent was a bait. Why?” Tony had to give it to her, the green gal was smarter than she seemed. Tony turned back around and grinned wickedly, though he knew they couldn’t see it.

“Why, to steal a ride of course… or parts. I’m not too picky at the moment.” He looked at their ship with wonder, briefly debating whether or not he should just say ‘screw it’ and try to take it anyways… but he couldn’t do that. As selfish and self-centered as he was, he could not in good conscience take something from someone who means him no harm. He wanted to get home, desperately, but he refused to stoop that low. “Also, I figured that the more of those assholes I take out, the safer Earth is. It’s a win-win.”

“I still do not approve of this particular course of action, Boss.” FRIDAY made a mechanical whirling noise, her very own version of a sigh. Tony nearly beamed in delight, despite the fact that the sigh was directed at him.

“Well, what would you have me do? Waste around in this weird ass planet like a damsel in distress until someone saves me or I die? No thank you. Stagnation is disgusting and I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to it.” He made a stricken sound of revulsion to emphasize his point. He knew if FRIDAY had eyes, she’d be rolling them right now.

“You would make a good damsel, perhaps there is time yet for you to change your mind?” She quipped already knowing Tony’s answer would remain the same. It was too late for them to change their plan anyways since the broadcast had already been sent.

“I’ve already stooped low enough to become a Disney princess, I absolutely refuse to stoop even lower.” Tony argued with a grin. “Who would I be? The big cat would mean I’m Jasmine, and there is the ‘whole new world’ aspect too.” He then heard a cough coming from the group still held at gunpoint in front of him. If he was being honest, he had almost completely forgotten that they were there. He stiffened slightly, realizing his mistake. Just because they were friendly now doesn’t mean Tony can just trust them and let his guard down.

“Well, in that case Princess you can call me Aladdin.” Quill actually winked. He winked.Tony looked at him, utterly baffled by that awful attempt at flirtation. “Wait, you’re sure you’re not really a robot though… right?”

“Keep it in your pants Quill.” Rocket groaned, though he didn’t actually seem bothered by Peter’s behavior. “You’re going to scare off the guy; and besides, I’m pretty sure the other robot is his girl.”

“I am not his girl!” FRIDAY exclaimed feeling an impressive amount of disgust at the notion of Tony and her being a couple. “Boss is akin to a father for me, one I will go through great lengths to protect.” Tony felt a wave of affection hit him with that comment. He had always loved FRIDAY, since the moment she was created, but having her declare her own emotions to him so plainly as though it were an obvious fact was something he wasn’t expecting. It was surely welcomed though.

“So what you’re saying is that he’s single and ready to mingle.” At that, Tony couldn’t keep it in anymore. He laughed, obnoxiously loud, for the first time in a long while.

“You’re a worst flirt than me, ‘Aladdin.’” Tony decided he wouldn’t mind being friends with the Peter guy. It was obvious what he was doing. He didn’t want to get into Tony’s pants, not really. He hadn’t even seen what Tony looked like and he barely knew him, so it wasn’t as if he was attracted. No, he was flirting with Tony because he was trying to make the situation less drastic. He had been eyeing the guns FRIDAY had set on them warily, and he knew that his team would get hurt should she choose to fire. He was trying to seem as nonthreatening as he possibly could, though he didn’t really seem like much of a threat already. His team on the other hand, did.

But since when was Tony afraid of anything dangerous? Take the Hulk, for example. Tony absolutely loved the guy, and his interests were mostly smashing things and being angry. The billionaire shook his head fondly at the memory of the big guy, though the thought of Bruce Banner soiled it a bit. He sighed, choosing to stop that train of thought before it could start and focused on the present instead. He called his suit back in the reactor’s housing unit, ignoring FRIDAY’s protests. “I’m Tony, Tony Stark. The Iron Man pilot.” He walked closer to the group and extended a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, E.T.” Peter’s eyes gleamed with pure joy; an impressive contrast to the implied glare FRIDAY was shooting him.

“Boss, they could be the enemy.” FRIDAY hissed, focusing a repulsor on Peter as an obvious threat should he try to harm a hair on Tony’s head. Peter, amazingly, didn’t seem to care much as he took Tony’s hand in his with a big smile.

“Peter Quill! But then, you already knew that…” He chuckled sheepishly. He then frowned as he took a closer look at Tony. “You’re kind of on the young side, huh?”

“What.” Tony deadpanned, frowning intensely at Peter as if he had grown a second head. “Run that by me again?”

“He means no offense. You are still too young to be a warrior, and yet you have braved against Thanos’ army.” Drax said, looking at him with a proud smile. Tony’s frown deepened.

“FRIDAY, is there a hidden camera somewhere? Am I being played?” He looked at the older Iron Man suit, hoping for an answer. FRIDAY was silent for a while, not answering his implied question. “FRI?” Tony was starting to get worried.

“I would suggest you look in a mirror, boss.” Tony sighed in mild annoyance, considering there were no mirrors here. He could try and get his reflection from the suit, but it was far too smudged and dirty from the fall to properly reflect anything. Tony called up a part of his own suit and willed the nanobots to form a shield. When he finally saw his reflection, he let out another laugh, but this time it was hollow and nervous.

“Oh this is too good.” He said bitterly, not even caring about the confused stares the others were giving him. “When we get back to Earth, do remind me not to completely annihilate Rogers when my fist connects to his face.”

“I can not promise to perform that duty well.” FRIDAY informed him, and he chuckled darkly despite his frustration. He felt Extremis heat him up, and he knew that if he let himself get angrier he’d explode. So, he took in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down with a slack face.

“What are we missing?” Peter said with a frown. Tony looked at him and considered what he’d say, but chose to shrug instead. It wasn’t like they’d ever really meet again after this encounter, so there was no reason to open himself up and be vulnerable.

He refused to join their team for several reasons, really. The first was that he was done with the whole ‘team’s are great’ shindig. The Avengers was his attempt at being a part of a whole, or whatever bullshit fury had fed him, and he had to admit that he liked going solo so much better. His enemies were less likely to kill him than his teammates. Secondly, he had some serious problems when it came to his emotions and his small combustion issue. Sure, he didn’t really have any incidents (only with the occasional nightmare setting him off) and he was getting better, but if he really lost himself to panic in space than he would be taking more lives than his own. The crash site around him was proof enough of that. Thirdly, he was actually starting to like the random aliens that came to try to recruit him, and that only reinforced reason number two. He didn’t want to be the reason these guys died.

“Nothing of importance.” Tony answered easily. “I’m going to head back now, FRI. Let them go, it’s pretty clear they’re not here for my head.” He tapped on his reactor and the suit wrapped around him again, and just like that he took flight.

“Wait! We still wanted to talk to you about-“ He heard Peter shout after him, but the high winds and distance cut him off; and Tony didn’t look back. He didn’t need to. Soon enough they would leave, and until then FRIDAY could deal with the ragtag group and make sure they stayed out of trouble. In the meantime, Tony needed to get his mind off the fact that he looked uncomfortably young. He was nearing fifty, but barely looked thirty.

He landed by his makeshift workshop with a dull thud, noticing kitty cat Sammy was nowhere to be seen. She was probably hunting. Tony sighed, extracting his suit and running a hand through messy, and now long, brown locks. He wondered just what had happened to make him look so uncomfortably young, but he already knew the answer. Extremis must have healed his aged cells, making him look like what he had in his prime. No wrinkles, no marks, and no scars. He looked at his hands, smooth as can be and not the calloused hands of an engineer who worked with machines almost every day of his life since he could pick up a screwdriver. It was no wonder Drax had thought he wasn’t a warrior, since he looked like a sheltered child who hadn’t had to work a day in his life.

A thought then struck Tony, and he gingerly looked at his chest, taking off the stolen shirt. It was impressive how perfectly smooth his skin was. He had expected there to be a large scar from Cap’s shield bashing in on him, or at least the many scars he had gotten from his procedure in Afghanistan, but there was nothing. It was just perfect skin that transitioned smoothly into the metal reactor as if it were a part of him. It probably was, now that he thought about it, more now than ever before. He groaned and put the shirt back on.

“I blame all of this on you, Rogers.” He huffed out, picking up a random tool and going back to work. The spaceship wouldn’t build itself, after all. He hated his scars with a passion, and often felt insecure because of them, but they were proof. They were what showed him that he had survived terrors and lived. They were every bit a part of him as the rest of his body was, and now they were gone. Years of hardships and battles barely won just vanished.

He made the suit play music, knowing he’d be better not focus so much on that lest he blow up again. FRIDAY was still gone talking to the Guardians, and she wouldn’t be able to stop him if he started spiraling down a negative train of thought. He focused on the feel of the metal tools in his hand and the machinery he was building. Building things had always been therapeutic, and he was gladdened to see that hasn’t changed.

FRIDAY looked at each of the Guardians, and waited until Tony landed on their makeshift and go offline home before disarming herself and looking at each of them in scrutiny. Since her weapons were gone, they weren’t itching to grab theirs either. “So, you want to take boss out of here and have him join your team?” She finally asked after a moment.

“Yeah.” Peter huffed out annoyed. He didn’t like being walked out on. “What’s his deal anyways? It almost seemed like he would join us for a moment there before he just left which, rude, by the way.” FRIDAY didn’t deem that slight with a response, instead she focused on a way to get her boss out of there without having to face off against evil alien terrorists.

“He has a predicament and believes it would be safer if he didn’t have any passengers riding with him when he returns to Earth.” FRIDAY explained straightforwardly. “If you are willing to look past that, I am willing to assist you in recruiting him.”

“Wait, really? Weren’t you the one eager to shoot us dead?” Peter raised a disbelieving brow.

“The only thing I’m eager about is my function of protecting and assisting Dr. Stark.” FRIDAY responded bored, as if this information was obvious.

“Your function?” Rocket asked, wondering just what she meant by that. “Don’t you mean your duty or job?”

“It’s rather interchangeable.” If FRIDAY could shrug, she probably would have. “As it stands, boss has no other means of exiting this planet and is relying upon a poorly thought out plan with an impressively high likelihood of failure. As you did not attack him, he will not attack you; but there is nothing preventing you from simply staying in this planet and continuing your attempt at persuasion.”

“And you won’t try and stop us?” Gamora asked, looking the armor in the eye.

“No, I will not.” She paused for a moment and considered the situation before speaking up again. “I will warn you that any and all attempts at harming Dr. Stark, regardless of severity, will be met with use of aggressive force. I will be constantly watching, so I will know exactly what happens and when it happens. As previously stated my function is to protect and assist boss, and I take my duty very seriously. Am I understood?” She briefly debated bringing out her artillery once more to prove a point, but decided the action was pointless. They already knew she carried a vast amount of weapons, and they knew she wasn’t afraid of pointing it all at them.

“You are.” Gamora said just as gravely. She knew what it was like to want to protect those she cherished, so she didn’t guilt the woman for threatening the Guardians; but that didn’t mean she liked it either. Despite her mild annoyance, so long as neither party brought harm to the other, she knew they were going to be okay. This woman would not harm them if they didn’t harm her boss. “The opposite is true as well.” She added, still wanting to voice her thoughts.

“Very well.” FRIDAY acknowledged Gamora’s own promise with a nod before turning around. “We are stationed in that direction. I hope to see you soon.” She turned on the repulsors for the suit, preparing herself for lift-off before another voice stopped her.

“Wait, who are you? What’s your name?” Peter asked.

“I am FRIDAY. It is a pleasure to meet you Captain Star Lord, as well as your crew.” The man blinked before smiling. He loved being addressed as captain, and even more so being called Star Lord. To be referred to as both was something he discovered he liked. He watched her fly off with a smile still on his face.

“Don’t you dare try and flirt with her Quill.” Rocket grumbled. “You already flirted with her dad.”

“I wonder how old she is, considering how young Stark looks.” Gamora thought out loud.

“I am Groot.” Groot spoke for the first time since they landed. Usually, he was rather talkative as well, but everyone thought it might be best if he hung back. He was still a kid, after all. They wanted to leave him with Mantis, but he refused to leave Rocket’s side.

“You and me both buddy. I bet she’s really pretty underneath the armor.” Peter hummed as he started walking towards where FRIDAY had pointed. Why did Tony decide to name his kid after a day of the week? That just seemed weird. Then again, he remembered that some terrans liked naming their kids after months, so maybe they decided days of the week would be the next step to go.

“Just because he was pretty doesn’t mean she will be.” Rocket huffed, annoyed at their current conversation. “What’s more important is that I’m pretty sure he’s a techie. He knows at least enough to fix up a ship, since he’s looking for parts. And did you see the armors they wore? I wonder where they got them.” Gamora hummed at that.

“I wonder if he is their most proficient pilot,” she added to the thought, “and if there are other pilots like him.” She looked at Peter, wondering if he would know anything about this since Earth was his birth planet.

“Don’t look at me,” He shrugged, “Earth wasn’t that advanced back when I still lived there.” He looked at the direction FRIDAY had pointed him to and offered his team a smile. “Anyways, lets hop onboard and park somewhere closer, hopefully he won’t fly away if we’re at his camp.” And that, alongside a couple of grunts and nods, was what lead them back into their ship. Just like Peter had said, they flew to the general location FRIDAY had pointed them to, and it was one hell of a surprise to see the crash site of one of the Ravager’s largest ships. Whatever Stark had done to crash it, he caused some serious damage.

They parked the Milano walking distance from the crash and quickly made their way towards Tony’s camp on foot. Rocket was right when he guessed that Tony was a techie, considering how the man was neck deep into working on the underside of what looked like an advanced engine with his back on the ground. Loud music was blasting through the some sections of his armor that had been left out, but it wasn’t something Peter could recognize. He was impressed with how different this song sounded from the few songs he had on his playlist, but he was even more impressed that the younger man hadn’t gone deaf with how loud it was.

“You know, usually when someone flies off in the middle of a conversation, it means they don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Tony commented, not looking at them once. The music somehow lowered before he talked, surprisingly enough, as if it knew to do so. Peter vaguely wondered if he had someone program it to do that, or maybe if he had lowered it himself. “Don’t get clingy on me now Aladdin.” The man quipped, making Peter snort out a laugh.

“Oh, but princess, you’re all I can think about!” Peter shot back with his signature grin. He would have put on a full show for the man, but the he still wasn’t looking at them. He momentarily wondered if maybe they should just give up on trying to recruit this terran, as it was clear he didn’t want to associate too much with his team.

“Is this what a terran engine looks like?” Rocket asked, completely ignoring their odd flirtatious conversation. He hadn’t seen an engine quite like the one the terran was working on, and his interest was piqued. It looked as good as, if not better than, the engine on the Milano. He wondered if he could maybe bargain with the terran to switch engines… the Milano really needed an upgrade.

“Trick question.” Tony hummed back, finally lifting himself from underneath the engine. “This was the old engine design from the ship that I brought down,” he took a piece of cloth and wiped his hands as his eyes scanned the engine, “but it was pretty much busted when I got ahold of it. Took me some time, but eventually I figured out how it worked and started rebuilding it with some improvements I could think of. I had to change a couple of things around too, since I don’t have enough parts to build a perfect replica of the engine.” He tapped a finger on the glowing circle on his chest. Peter had been curious about that, actually. He didn’t have one, and he was sure the other terrans he knew didn’t have one either, so it’s clearly not something he was born with. He figured it was probably some sort of power source for the armor the man wore, but aside from that he wasn’t too sure what it was as it was kept covered by a fairly dark shirt. “I’m still trying to figure out a couple of kinks on it though, to get it to actually work.”

Rocket huffed at his response, begrudgingly impressed. “It doesn’t look like you need that many parts.” He commented looking over Tony’s work. Tony looked at the raccoon and just smiled.

“No, I don’t, but the parts I need are rather necessary. I take it you know your way around technology?” Rocket looked up at that comment, fully expecting the reluctant or mocking attitude that usually came with it, but was met instead with interest and genuine curiosity.

“Yeah, what of it?” He still replied as he normally would, refusing to let his guard down. It was a bit surprising to see the terran simply smile as a response.

“Oh, I would love to pick your brain on a couple of things. There’s some stuff I haven’t been able to figure out yet, and I’m not sure I’m building a decent ship with my limited knowledge. I knew I should have paid more attention to the papers on space travel, but there was always one thing or another to focus on and, well… Anyways, I was hoping I could just hijack whatever parts I needed from whatever ship came down for me, maybe even see if I could compare the two systems and figure things out, but you’re clearly not hostiles and I’m not that big of an asshole.” Peter saw something about Tony’s expression change, even if it was only a slight, barely noticeable change. It looked like he had remembered something he’d rather not, but Peter didn’t really know the man well enough to judge. “Bottom line is, mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Yeah, whatever. If you show me what you did with this engine, I’ll show you some stuff in the Milano.” Rocket offered as he pointed at the ship neatly parked somewhere behind them. It took a second for Tony to understand what he meant, since the ship wasn’t really close enough to actually be seen, but he grinned at Rocket when he did.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Peter hadn’t expected tech talk would have been what roped the terran into being more welcoming towards them… granted he hadn’t not been welcoming. Peter supposed he still talked to them and only brushed them off once, but now he was genuinely interested in interacting with them. Somehow, Rocket had convinced the terran not to send them off again, and Peter wouldn’t waste that opportunity. He looked at Gamora and realized she was thinking something along the same lines: they had to convince the terran to join their team, and they had to do it quickly before anyone realized they are here.

Chapter Text

Despite their odd, impressively armed introduction, Stark and the Guardians got along well. That aught to be the name of a band, Peter mused. They had an easy relationship, though a bit distant. It didn’t take long for Tony to meet Mantis, and, although it was clear she made him a bit uncomfortable, they got along well enough. He was sure to avoid touching her the moment he learned about her abilities, but he wasn’t a dick about it like most people are. He would also eat meals with the team in the Milano, though it took some time for Peter to convince him to do so.

It took even more time for Peter to understand that Tony’s reluctance to join them wasn’t really even reluctance at all. The man might sometimes look at them with a melancholic expression on his face while they dine, but most of the time when he said no to joining them it was because he simply didn’t want to stop working. FRIDAY, who had yet to leave her armor (much to Peter’s disappointment), confirmed his suspicions. Since then, Peter would nag at the other until he joined.

“Dine with us?” He’d ask hopefully, watching the other guy as he worked endlessly on one thing or another. He had asked Rocket what exactly it was that Stark was building and was impressed to find out he was literally trying to build himself a ship from scratch. The first thought was that whoever Stark was, he must be one of the smartest terrans around. His second thought was a little more panicked. If Stark could just build himself a ship, then there was no way in hell he’d join Peter and his crew. Rocket seemed to think the same thing but wasn’t too disheartened by it.

“Maybe some other time.” Stark responded as he usually did. “Gotta finish this section as soon as possible so I can move on to the stabilizers.”

“You could always do that some other time.” Peter mused, watching the other man work. Did he ever take a break? “And do the eating thing with us now… you know, since humans kind of need that for survival.”

“Good thing I’m not a human anymore.” Stark muttered that in a low voice, as if he was mostly talking to himself, but Peter still heard him.

“What?” He frowned feeling a bit confused, but then Stark flashed a smug smile at him from where he was working.

“I’ve ascended from human to the Ravagers’ personal boogeyman.” Peter had to laugh at that, especially with how hilariously true that statement was.

“Alright, I’ll give you that princess… but you still have to eat.” Truthfully, Peter wouldn’t have cared much if a random (but admirably hot) mechanic stranded in an unlucky island wanted to eat or not, he’s not that altruistic (he isn’t really altruistic in general), but this was important to Gamora. She wanted him on the team, so he’d put on his good boy pants and do his best. Besides, Groot seemed really fond of this particular human.

“You’re starting to sound more and more like Rhodey and Pepper.” Stark grumbled. “If I go eat with you, will you drop the princess bit?” Peter smirked. Score for him.

“Aw, but you make such a great princess.” That was when Stark gave him a look of sheer distain and Peter was immediately regretting not dropping it. He needed Stark to like him, not hate him.

“Excuse you, if I was to be royalty, I’d be a queen.” He huffed, grabbing a towel to wipe his oil stained hands. Peter blinked once, and then twice, before he burst with laughter.

“Okay Stark, I’ll have to give it to you, you got me there.” At that Stark smirked.

“Jesus, call me Tony already would you?” He said with an eyeroll. “Stark is solely reserved for the asshats back home who like to break laws and blame me.” The moment Stark realized what slipped out of his mouth he stilled. It was only for a second, but Peter saw it. There was a dark look in his eye for that moment and, for the first time since they met, Peter felt something dangerous emanate from this man. It wasn’t directed at him, but it was there.

Not that he really cared though, considering every single one of his crewmembers were equally if not more dangerous than him. Besides, they needed dangerous if they wanted him to face Thanos. Still, he decided not to pry on that danger and just move on with the conversation.

“Tony then, as you wish your majesty.” He replied with a smirk and a bow. That got him an eyeroll in return, but there was mirth in the other man’s eyes, so he took that as a win.

“Let’s go eat, Lord Star.” Peter beamed at that, and chipperly led the other man to his ship. Between the few meals they shared, and the times Rocket took Tony to explore the ship, the other man already knew how to get there. He still followed a step behind Peter though, letting him take the lead. “So, what made you guys decide to keep me company, anyways?” That was a sudden question Peter wasn’t expecting.

Well, then again he should have been considering Tony had basically told him to leave when they first met. He didn’t really have an answer prepared, but he really should have thought of one. “Gamora really wants you to fight with us.” He answered truthfully. “I know you declined our invitation already, but we can be really persistent when we really want to. So, now we’re trying to convince you to let us kidnap you.” He turned to look at the man, only to realize he had stopped walking. He was looking at the site of the shipwreck.

“It doesn’t matter what you do or say Quill, I’m not going with you.” He said with such finality, that Peter almost believed him. His eyes looked at his with such conviction, as though he had made it his goal to leave this planet alone. “I don’t mind the company, but ultimately you will leave here without me.”

“Nah.” Peter said flippantly, giving the other the same shit-eating grin that consistently pissed off Yonduu every time. Tony simply lifted his brow, and Peter took that for the dare it was. “I’m a charming person, and I’m going to charm the living hell out of you.” Tony scoffed, but the corner of his lips pulled up. “What’s keeping you from coming with us anyways? We could easily take you back to Earth before we go find Thanos, and we could bring you back right after too.” It seemed like a win-win situation from where Peter was standing, but Tony still had that frown of his.

“Trust me when I say this, you don’t want me around.” What? That made absolutely no sense, considering how they got along right off the bat. Rocket was starting to like this guy, and Gamora already held him in high regards. Groot loved him and he amused Drax; Mantis liked him enough and Peter, well, Peter didn’t hate the guy. It was clear from day one that they were cut from the same cloth.

“Nah.” Peter repeated himself, not really letting Tony’s words get to him. He would be just as stubborn as Tony was, and then he’d be even more so. “Give me a real reason for why I wouldn’t want you aboard my ship, and then maybe I’ll consider stopping my charms from working their magic. Until then, I’m starving.” He turned back around and continued on his merry way.

They arrived at the ship and were delighted to find out that it was Drax who ended up cooking today. Peter counted his lucky stars that it wasn’t Gamora on kitchen duty. It was impressive how bad she was at it. Tony sat down beside Rocket and the two of them immediately started talking tech, Groot had climbed on top of Tony and Gamora sat across from him. Peter grabbed his own plate and sat beside Gamora. Drax and Mantis were on the edge of the table.

“Where’s Friday anyway?” Rocket asked, looking around for the familiar suit of armor. He liked talking to her as much as he liked talking to Tony, especially after finding out how she was well versed in mechanics as well. Sometimes he compared her to a walking encyclopedia of information when it came to tech, and it sounded about right to Peter. She was still rather intimidating though.

She warmed up a bit to them, but she still kept up formalities. It was a rather blunt contrast to how Tony treated them, always friendly. The first few days she would refuse to leave Tony’s side, watching him like a hawk. Now, she still mostly hung around him, but was confident enough to leave him alone from time to time whenever Tony needed her to look for something or another.

“She’s looking for Sammy.” Tony explained.

“Who’s Sammy?” Gamora asked with interest. Peter knew where that interest came from. It was clear that both Tony and Friday were trained fighters, despite how young Tony was and how younger Friday probably was. If there was another one of them, then that increased their chances of winning against Thanos by that much.

“Sammy’s my outdoor cat. She’s normally gone, but she’s been away for a long time now. FRIDAY and I were wondering where she went.” Why the hell would the Ravagers kidnap an outdoor cat? Why would Tony let that cat wonder around aimlessly in an alien planet? Peter knew cats were assholes that were not to be trifled with, but surely a cat wouldn’t be able to last long out there in this planet.

“Isn’t it dangerous to leave your cat alone out there?” He found himself voicing his concerns, but he was rewarded with an amused smirk.

“Trust me, Sammy’s more than capable of taking care of herself. FRIDAY’s just a worrywart. Years of dealing with me did that to her.” He was clearly amused by the fact but said nothing about it. Instead, he looked back at Rocket, probably to talk more about technology and ships. “You ever just blow stuff up for the hell of it?” Okay, so maybe not to talk more about technology and ships.

“Yeah. It’s the only fun I get since joining up with these idiots.” Rocket huffed, and Tony looked absolutely delighted.

“How do you feel about setting things on fire?” Peter looked at Gamora, noticing that she was also a bit concerned where this line of questioning was leading the two technicians. Rocket seemed to grin widely.

“It’s fun enough.” Tony hummed at his answer.

“Okay, I’ve been meaning to test something; whether I’m, uh, using flammable materials or not.” Peter raised a brow at the small break in the sentence, but Tony didn’t acknowledge it. “FRIDAY’s been a bit of a mother hen about me trying this specific brand of experimenting, but science.” He said, as though that were all the argument he would need to convince anyone to join him in his mischief.

“Yeah, I can get behind science.” It seemed like it was enough of an argument after all, if the manic grin Rocket was sporting was any indication.

“Great, I knew you’d understand. Worst outcome is that I… we witness an explosion, best outcome is that the material isn’t flammable after all!” Gamora glared at Peter then, and the captain could only groan in frustration.

“No exploding things.” Tony turned his head to Peter, and gave him a sharp smile that hid some sort of meaning. Before he could even attempt to decipher it, Tony already changed topics.

“What do you think FRIDAY would look like?” Peter blinked, not quite expecting that question. Was Tony teasing him? They were all curious about Friday’s looks, but they were never vocal about it. Then again, Tony was a genius, and it didn’t take a genius to see all of them curiously looking at Friday.

“Like you I guess, but female.” Peter replied honestly, and Tony hummed in contemplation before bringing out some sort of hologram. There was a basic human female shape there, but nothing more.

“And also angrier.” Rocket added in. Peter glared at him. “What? She threatened us the moment she saw us, she’s one scary lady. Nothin’ wrong with that though.” He shrugged, and Tony laughed while he continued to fiddle with the small device.

“So how old are you two anyways?” Peter couldn’t help but ask. It’s a question he’s had for quite some time and it’s been bugging him. He wasn’t one to judge, but Tony looked far too young to have a daughter. She could be adopted, but the fact still stands. Meanwhile, Tony had just realized that he never revealed FRIDAY to being his A.I., and they genuinely believed that she was a flesh and blood human like him. He smirked to himself and decided to keep that going for as long as he could.

The engineer looked at Peter and smiled mischievously. “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” He said with a shrug and turned his attention back to his current task… it looked like he was messing with some sort of hologram figure.

“Try us.” Gamora insisted with an inquisitive glare. Peter looked at her knowingly. She was good at hiding her curiosities, but this was something she also wanted to know, badly enough to voice her question.

“Well… FRIDAY, for one, is two years old.” He didn’t look up from the hologram, and his face was slack and didn’t contain the trace of humor Peter was looking for. “And I’m in my late forties.”

“I call bullshit.” Peter said almost immediately after, and he noticed Tony smirk at this.

“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.” He hummed cheekily, continuing his fiddling with the hologram.

“Wait, you’re not shitting me?” Peter was frowning, not even paying attention to the fact that the two of them were making a hologram version of FRIDAY for whatever reason. “She’s far too smart to be a two year old, and you look way too young to be fifty.”

“If all terrans age the same, then I’m inclined to believe that Peter is right.” Gamora nodded in agreeance.

“I bet Quill’s just mad that a two year old terran is smarter than he is.” Rocket grinned viciously, causing Tony to stifle a laugh.

“Let’s just say that she was forced to grow up faster than she should have. Compared to JARVIS, she was basically thrown into the world and told to survive.” He still felt bad about it, but FRIDAY always assured him that she was content with her place in life. She was happy to be with him, even if it meant learning how to do things on the fly.

“Jarvis?” Mantis asked, tilting her head sideways in confusion. Apparently, both Drax and Mantis became interested in their conversation somewhere along the line.

“Her older brother.” He supplied.

“Wait, hold the phone. Tony you have two kids?” Peter’s jaw was hilariously left open.

“Technically, I have seven.” He thought back to how vehemently Peter Parker and Harley would hunt him down to spend time together. He had only just recently met Peter; they’ve only been in contact for a few months before the Civil War, and yet Tony had already adopted the kid in his heart.

“WHAT?” Peter nearly yelled. “You must have been a very active guy.” He added with a mutter. Tony did laugh then.

“Well, three of them are robots with rudimentary A.I.s, two are twerps who practically adopted me, and the other two are FRIDAY and JARVIS… But you’re right, I was very active.” He added the last part with a wink. Peter didn’t know why he blushed at that, he was a pretty active guy himself for crying out loud!

“So, Friday and Jarvis are your only real kids?” Gamora asked when Peter sputtered indignations.

“They’re all my kids.” Tony corrected her. “Flesh and blood has nothing to do with it.” He frowned at the thought, remembering his own father. Harley’s father wasn’t really that great either. Being related doesn’t mean being a father, Tony figured. Not to mention five of his apparently seven children don’t even have flesh and blood bodies.

“Point taken.” Gamora nodded, dropping the question entirely. Instead she chose to ask something else. “I’m assuming you took care of them though.”

“It’s more like they took care of me.” Tony looked at the hologram fondly; it was starting to look more like an actual person. Tony hoped FRIDAY would like it. “I’d be dead ten times over if it wasn’t for them.” Some father figure, he thought to himself.

“Where are they now?” Peter asked curiously. He wondered if they were all as successful as Tony seemed to be.

“Harley and Peter are still in school, the bots are probably somewhere in the Tower’s lab, and FRIDAY is with me here.”

“Oh hey! Another Peter! The superior name for superior kids.” Tony simply rolled his eyes, but his lips were quirked up ever so slightly that Peter knew he was laughing along. “And what about Jarvis?” At that Tony stilled, and Peter really wished he could take that question back. There was a flash of sadness that briefly covered Tony’s face before it disappeared into its usual slackness.

“He’s dead.”

“I’m sorry.” Gamora said with an equally sad expression on her face. She knew exactly what loss felt like; they all did, really. Tony offered her a small smile.

Peter wanted to comfort Tony somehow. He didn’t really know how, but he also didn’t really like the currently depressing look Tony was sporting. It almost looked like he was a kicked puppy; however, before he could say or do anything, FRIDAY’s voice was heard throughout the Milano making everyone but Tony jump.

“Boss, I found Sammy.” She said simply and Tony immediately sobered up from his bout of sadness, but Peter doubted the engineer was okay. It was then that Peter realized something and frowned.

“Since when have you been on the coms?” He tried not to seem as annoyed about this as he felt. He was a bit possessive over his ship, especially after everything they have gone through together.

“Since I hacked it.” Tony answered easily earning a shocked expression from Peter. Who in their right mind just hacks someone? “It was an easy hack actually, which was a bit disappointing considering alien tech.” The engineer sounded a bit put out. “I strengthened the firewall though, so the next guy won’t have as easy of a time as I did. You’re welcome.” Tony threw in a shit-eating grin, and Peter was ready to jump him and leave a nasty bruise on his face. The only thing keeping him from doing so was how Rocket was laughing and Gamora’s clearly threatening glare pointed his way. He still huffed in annoyance though. “So where’s Sammy been all this time?”

“She was being hunted again, boss.” FRIDAY’s voice sounded cooler then, and Peter swore the room increased in temperature.

“What?” Tony’s voice was sharp and downright cold, and it sent shivers down everyone’s back. Not even Gamora, the bona fide badass assassin she was, was unaffected. The inventor stood up calmly, and turned to leave. “Give me your location.” Within a second the suit was on and Tony was gone.

“Okay, I’m not the only one who thought that was mildly terrifying, right?” Peter was the first to speak, still looking out the door where Tony had just left.

“Peter, FRIDAY said Sammy was being hunted… Again.” Gamora looked at him with concern tight in her eyes. His own eyes widened when he realized the meaning behind this. They needed to go, pronto.

“We can’t wait for him forever.” Peter voiced the words he knew were on everyone’s mind. “We’re going to anyways, aren’t we?”

“You guys have a death wish.” Rocket huffed out, glaring at the two of them. “I like that flesh bag, though.” He admitted begrudgingly and looked at Peter, as if waiting for orders.

“He is still just a boy.” Drax commented idly. “He has yet to reach manhood, it is our duty to protect him.” Somehow, Peter didn’t quite believe Drax. It was clear that whoever Tony was, he wasn’t a boy. The haunted look on his eyes when he talked about the people back home was proof enough of that; hell, his fight with the Chitauri was proof enough.

“Gamora, this mission is yours. You have the final say.” Peter already knew what she was going to choose, but he figured he’d still ask.

“We should go help him save his cat.” Gamora said finally, standing up gracefully and quickly.

“That will be unnecessary.” FRIDAY’s voice chimed in, and everyone stilled. They had figured she would leave once Tony did, but it was wrong to assume so apparently. Shouldn’t she be helping him with the fight they are undoubtedly in? “The threat has been contained. Boss, Sammy and myself shall return briefly. We are simply attempting to… put out some fires first.” There was humor in her voice, as if she had just said something funny. “I do appreciate that you are willing to wait for boss, but do tell me what it is that is making you consider leaving.” Her humor was gone, and her voice made what she said sound like an order.

“The Dogs.” Gamora responded, sitting back down. “They use this planet as a hunting ground, and we aren’t exactly on friendly terms with them.”

“Very well, thank you for notifying me.” Just like that, they were brought back to silence. Peter sighed and decided to take the finished plates of food back to the kitchen, and probably leave them there for someone else to take care of. As he was reaching out for Tony’s plate, however, FRIDAY spoke once again and made him jump. “Would you like to meet Sammy?”

“Shit.” Peter hissed, placing a hand on his rapidly beating heart. He really hated jump scares like this. “Not a word.” He said with a glare to Rocket, already knowing the damned raccoon was on the verge of uncontrollable laughter.

“Let’s go meet the cat.” Gamora said simply, but she was hiding a smile. Peter glared at her as well, but he doubted it did anything for him.

Meeting Sammy had been something else. Apparently, by outside cat, Tony meant a huge ass feline predator with sharp claws and sharper fangs. The engineer was laughing underneath that deadly creature as it licked his face. FRIDAY stood beside them, watching leisurely from behind the metal suit. Was she not afraid of the fact that something bigger and deadlier than a lion was currently licking her father figure like a delicious human lollypop? Tony brought his hand up and scratched behind the cat’s ear. It was surprising that he still had that hand afterwards.

“I will admit that this was not what I was expecting.” Gamora hummed from beside him. Peter looked at her incredulously, was she not seeing what he was seeing? How was she so nonchalant?

“He must be strong, if he has conquered such a beast.” Drax commented. Peter’s gaze went from Gamora to him. Maybe it’s just a human thing, but people should generally be afraid of something that could gut them alive in a heartbeat. Then again, Tony was human. The only logical conclusion Peter could come up with was that idiots surrounded him, though that end result usually didn’t include Gamora.

“I’m glad you’re back too Sam.” Tony smiled softly; and, Peter blinked at the brilliance of that smile. Sure, Tony had smiled many other times with them, but none of them felt quite as genuine as this one. Of course, it was when Peter was starting to get used to that smile that it was dropped. “Oh hey guys!” He still sounded chipper but, compared to what he had heard moments before, it felt like a pleasantry.

Sammy looked up from the engineer and practically snarled at Peter and his crew. Tony, the rat bastard, simply laughed. “Don’t worry, she’ll warm up to you eventually.” Somehow, Peter doubted that. He wondered how exactly she had warmed up to Tony and Friday in the first place. Looking at the cat, he could tell she wasn’t a native to this planet but was probably brought here by the dogs to hunt. She looked like a Tambarin, an endangered and dangerous species from the planet Tambar. They are notorious for their ability to blend into almost any environment regardless of color or size, though there have been no studies as to how this was done. All the scientists that ventured out to try and figure it out usually ended up mauled.

“Tony, you realize that’s a Tambarin.” Gamora said with a smile, confirming Peter’s guess.

“I realize she’s a Sammy, yes.” Tony answered easily, attempting to lift himself from under Sammy. The cat simply huffed and pushed him back down, fully laying on him. Peter’s said it once, and he’d say it again. Cats are assholes.

“Tambarins are some of the most dangerous feral species known in this quadrant of the Andromeda Galaxy.” She tried again.

“No wonder I didn’t recognize the stars.” He mused, scratching Sammy’s ear again.

“You currently have that same species, rumored to act aggressive unprovoked, lying on top of you.” Gamora tried one final time, still amused by what she was witnessing.

“Sammy, you never told me you were a badass.” Tony grinned up at the feline, petting her again. Had he no sense of self-preservation? Sammy responded with a simple huff. “Sammy hasn’t done anything against me Gamora; in fact, she chose to follow me home. Why should I be afraid of her if the worst thing she does is cuddle me to death?” The way he spoke was warm and affectionate. It was apparent that the stupid cat had grown on him. Peter couldn’t help but feel jealous of that goddamn cat.

“She chose to follow you?” Rocket asked. “You didn’t try to tame her?”

“Why would I do that?” That was the only response they got. Everyone shrugged and carried on like there wasn’t a big ass cat with sharp teeth using Tony as a mattress. Peter consistently eyed their interaction, ready to do anything if Sammy turned out to be a threat after all. It was then that a thought struck him: he was concerned for that stubborn terran known as Tony Stark. He didn’t really know much about him, but that didn’t seem to matter. In the short few days they spent together, the other terran grew on him.

“Well shit.” He muttered to himself after that realization. Looking at Tony, it seemed he heard his whispered profanity and showed some concern from underneath Sammy. “Nothing.” He said with a sheepish smile before finding a place to sit down. He didn’t trust Sammy not to maul Tony to death, so he wanted to keep watch. He could pretend he was doing this for Gamora, since they needed Tony alive, but he didn’t bother. He’s spent enough time ignoring his emotions and pretending he could do everything alone. The Guardians definitely changed that about him, and he was better for it.

“So, we really need to leave the planet soon Tony.” Peter looked at the Tambarin in front of him and thought of the Dogs. He noticed Tony seemed to deflate, if only a little. So they had also started to grow on him.

“Oh yeah?” Tony’s voice seemed as calm as ever, but somehow Peter got the feeling that was wrong. It was a façade… one poorly put together. It wasn’t hard to tell Tony was good at putting on a front whenever he wanted to and pretending everything was hunky dory, but it seemed his heart just wasn’t in it this time. “When are you guys leaving?”

“Depends on when you’re ready to go.” Peter answered easily, earning a surprised look from Tony. “I’m assuming FRIDAY already told you about the Dogs?” Tony nodded, petting Sammy on the side and moving her off of him. Surprisingly, she let him and didn’t protest more than a slight grumble. Tony smiled at her and pet her ear, before walking over and sitting down next to Peter. Sammy decided to follow him, plopping herself to his side and Peter tried not to freak out too much.

“I can’t go with you Pete.” Tony insisted, but Peter just shook his head.

“If you don’t then you won’t make it out alive. The Dogs you dealt with up until now are here on some hunting ceremony. You’ve yet to face them when they’re armed to the teeth and after you like bloodhounds, pun absolutely intended.” Peter said with a straight face, and Tony was momentarily stunned by the sheer level of dork he just witnessed.

“Right. So you’re saying they’re more bite than bark?” The shit-eating grin he got was well worth the trouble.

“Basically, anyways, we aren’t leaving you behind.” Peter’s smile stood strong, and his refusal to back down on this was almost heartwarming. Unfortunately for him, Tony’s heart was still iced over from Siberia where someone who sang a similar song left him behind. He was done blindly believing in the goodness inside a person’s heart… Then again, he already knew what it was that Peter really wanted. He wanted Tony to fight against Thanos, a momentary alliance in the face of an astronomically powerful entity with homicidal tendencies. Tony hummed in contemplation. Trust issues aside, there was still the matter of Tony being prone to self-combust.

“If you take me with you, there’s a really big risk of your ship being blown to pieces.” Tony said carefully, trying not to give away too much. He realized Peter needed a decent reason, because apparently no doesn’t suffice anymore. Though, to be fair Peter hasn’t actually tried to kidnap him, just convince him to tag along. Had it been Steve, Tony was pretty sure he’d be in the process of being dragged out. Just like every time he spent too much time on the lab building something potentially dangerous instead of doing something pointless like team bonding with a team that didn’t want to fucking bond. Oh, he was getting angry. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down; he couldn’t lose it, not here where seemingly good people and a Sammy surrounded him.

“Tony, I’m pretty sure Rocket’s nearly blown up my ship at least five times this past week alone.” Peter snorted in response. “Oh, wait, shit. You probably wouldn’t want to know that… uh… The Milano is a perfectly safe ship and you really don’t have to worry about it.” Tony couldn’t help the snort he let out, captivating Peter’s short attention span.

“Please, I’m pretty sure he’s the reason the Milano is still functional. You don’t think he’s told me some of the atrocities you’ve done with her?” Tony teased with a light smile on his features, a stark contrast to the darkening scowl he had just moments prior. Peter took that as a victory on his book.

Wait. Tony smiling that gorgeous smile was a victory. Why was that a victory? He didn’t think much when he made other people smile. Maybe Gamora, but she never smiles. Peter frowned, and looked at Tony in scrutiny. “Uh, everything okay there Maurice?” Tony asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, I just realized you’re pretty hot.” Okay that’s a lie. He realized Tony was pretty hot the moment the guy took off his suit; it’s just that he didn’t really think much about it. Now though, he actually knew the guy. Tony was an oddball, and almost fit in perfectly with his crew. He was also witty and smart, not to mention his humor was right in Peter’s ballpark. It wasn’t surprising that Peter found himself interested in the younger man. Peter just hoped the guy wasn’t too much younger than him, otherwise that would be a really bad idea and, while Peter is normally all for bad ideas, this one was too bad of an idea.

Tony was silent for a long time, making Peter wonder if he should start filtering his thoughts. He really hoped he didn’t offend the other guy or creep him out… Gamora would kill him, and he’d like to think he has a chance. “Really? You’ve had access to my face and you just now realized this cowboy?” Tony teased lightly, though Peter knew there was no real meaning behind those words. That was fine, Peter might have started to crush on Tony, but it was so much more fun if he earned the other’s affections… or at least a night.

“What can I say your Highness, I was too enthralled with your… uh… charming personality to notice your looks?” That sounded far smoother in his mind. At least he got Tony to laugh again.

“If we met in different circumstances, I’d go with you.” Tony said in a moment of sobriety. His smile lost the quality Peter had admired, and his voice was far too gentle. “But I really can’t.” With that, he stood up and left Peter alone to wonder just what the fuck that was supposed to mean.

Days later Tony managed to grab Rocket and whisk him away from prying eyes. The two boys grinned maniacally at each other as they ran deeper and deeper into the forest, always sticking close to the river that ran through it. Groot had tagged along, though Tony didn’t mind. The little piece of sentient wood was beyond charming, and often reminded him of his bots back at home. He swore he’d be extra careful not to accidentally hurt Groot, though he didn’t think anything would happen. They’d be fine so long as Tony was far enough away and didn’t think about how bitter he still felt. Though, if he had to be honest, the Guardians were really a godsend. They kept him company throughout the lonely days, even with the looming threat of the puppy parade.

“So, now that we’re successfully hidden away from any of my teammates or your kid, what are we doing?” Rocket asked with an eager glint in his eye. Groot was sitting amiably on his shoulder, observing what was happening.

“I am Groot?” He asked with a smile. Tony couldn’t help but smile back, though he only had a basic idea of what Groot just said through context clues and his intonation. He was suddenly thankful Dum-E, U and Butterfingers could only communicate in beeps, it made understanding Groot a little bit easier. He’d figure out the little sapling’s language soon enough.

“First, we need something to start a fire with.” Tony hastily explained. Rocket immediately nodded and reached into his pocket to grab a… thing of metal. Tony lifted a confused brow until Rocket pressed a tiny red button, which then made the tiny thing of metal spit out a blue flame. So, it was a space lighter. Nifty. “I want one.” Tony exclaimed. He found himself wanting all of Rocket’s fancy space toys.

“Steal your own.” Was the bastard’s response. Tony thought back to when he had first learned of his companions’ less than favorable extra activities. At first he had frowned in utter confusion, hadn’t they called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy? Since when did guardians steal? Then he was told they were all ex convicts and, while yes they did save the galaxy a couple of times, old habits die hard. Tony respected that for what it was and moved on. They weren’t bad people, and as the Merchant of Death he’s done far worse than steal someone’s lighter.

“Fine.” He pouted, but quickly grinned again. “Okay, set me afire!” He was only put off a little bit when Rocket just looked at him like he had gone insane.

“I thought Quill was the stupid flesh bag not you.” Was Rocket’s response. “Did you hit your head or something?”

“No, just trust me.” Tony smiled brightly, ignoring Rocket’s unimpressed scowl. “I promise I won’t be harmed if I burn up, and if I am then I’ll recover quickly.” Rocket continued to glare at him, but Tony figured it was because he cared. He was used to people glaring at him, anyhow; except the glares he’s used to are reserved for when he’s fucked up somehow in their minds. It was that small difference that made Rocket alright.

Honestly, the Guardians are so much more different than the Avengers. It almost felt wrong to compare the two, if Tony was being honest. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do except compare them. Had he met the Guardians before the Accords came into play, he had a feeling he’d try and keep them instead of simply waiting for them to leave him. It was actually a bit distressing about how they hadn’t left yet, and that’s exactly why Tony’s here in the middle of a forest with Rocket trying to set himself on fire… well, that and also out of curiosity.

“Fine, I’ll trust ya. Just know Gamora will resurrect you and then kill you if you die… and I’ll help her.” Rocket grumbled out with his arms crossed and his face still surly. Tony smiled at that. There were few people who would trust him that easily, though Rocket didn’t really have much to lose if things went south.

“I’ll be sure not to let that happen.” Tony offered with a calm grin. “After you set me on fire, make sure you’re a couple of feet away from me and be ready to run if you have to.” Rocket frowned, not really understanding Tony’s request but he shrugged off his concerns. He was going to try and assess the situation as it happened, and that’s exactly why he had Rocket here with him.

He needed at least one of the Guardians to know why they couldn’t take him with them, and Rocket was the best choice for that. Despite everything, Tony did trust Rocket. He was the one Tony spent most time with, if only because of their mutual love for all things engineering, but he was also someone who understood what it meant to have one’s choice taken from them.

Rocket sighed and finally made his way to Tony, turning on the lighter and setting Tony’s clothes on fire. That was smart, having something highly flammable take to the flame rather than just setting his skin on fire. Afterwards, Rocket took a couple of steps back, like Tony had asked, and warily observed. He looked ready to go into action should Tony need help, and the billionaire appreciated it. Tony simply closed his eyes and waited patiently for the fire to start spreading and potentially burn him up.

Except, just like he expected, it never did. He opened his eyes to see his skin burning brightly, but there was no harm done. He ran a hand on his head, noticing that not even his hair had been burned off. He looked over at Rocket, who couldn’t believe what he was looking at. “Oh shit, I am fireproof!” Tony cheered contently. He ignored how Rocket was staring at him, incredulous and worried, and simply focused on the fact that he was literally on fire and not in any pain whatsoever. He was elated; imagine all of the shenanigans he could pull by simply being fire proof? He’d probably give Pepper a heart attack, but it would be so worth it. Despite his cheerful disposition, it didn’t take long before his good mood soured. “I’m fireproof.” He repeated with a sudden realization, looking at his flaming body.

“Uh, yeah I can see that. How the hell are you fireproof? Last I checked, you flesh bags can’t do fire.” Rocket asked, stepping closer with curiosity. Tony looked at Rocket, feeling a bit too raw. He could probably stay quiet and say it’s a mutation, there were mutants on Earth after all, but it didn’t feel right. Rocket had been helping him every day with building things and answering any question he would pose. He’d give him suggestions and listen to his ideas, pointing out flaws where he saw them and complimenting him on his ingenuity. They were friends, and Tony brought him here for this exact purpose. There was no reason for him to lie now just because he felt exposed.

“Yeah,” he quipped, “us flesh bags really can’t. I’m just special.” He forced a smile, but the look of concern that Rocket gave told him he didn’t do a good enough job. “I didn’t want this.” He admitted softly, quietly. Looking at the water, and doing his best not to think of the reason why he became like this. Rocket didn’t need to see him explode, and he certainly didn’t need to get caught in the blast.

“That’s shit.” Was what Rocket responded bluntly. Normally, Tony would have thought he was being rude or uncaring, but he knew that, oddly enough, that’s exactly how Rocket would show that he cared. He didn’t pry, knowing it was something incredibly personal, and he didn’t try to be empathetic about it. He just described the situation as he saw it: shit. If anything, it was that very rough candor that made Tony laugh.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He responded with a smile, a genuine one this time. He walked into the water, deciding that was enough burning for one day. “It’s the only reason I’m alive though.”

“That’s also shit. What happened?” Rocket followed him, sitting by the edge of the water while Tony dipped in.

“I trusted the wrong person.” Tony said simply, not really in the mood to think about Siberia. He was never really in the mood, if he was being honest. He’d rather bury that memory deep down inside of other unpleasant memories, like Obie and Afghanistan. He took a deep breath and remembered why he was here. “That’s besides the point though.” He looked at Rocket and offered an empty smile. “I can also explode.”

“On command?” Rocket asked with a raised brow. Of course that’s what he’d be curious about.

“Probably if I tried hard enough. For now it’s only ever happened in… unpleasant situations.” He looked at the forest in front of him, not wanting to see what expression Rocket was sporting. Pity? Concern? Fear? “Whenever I get riled up, to be exact.”

“So that’s the reason you’re not comin’ with us?” Bingo. Hopefully Rocket would now be on his side whenever this particular argument came along.

“Yep. I’m not too confident I won’t accidentally explode on you guys while out in space.” He admitted easily.

“I am Groot.” Tony blinked, almost having forgotten entirely about their little tree friend. He looked at the sapling waddling towards him. “I am Groot, I am Groot.” Groot raised his arms up the way a child would when they want to be carried and stared up expectantly at Tony. The engineer could only guess what he had said, but he knew the gesture well enough. He gingerly picked up the small alien tree and placed him on his shoulder.

“Groot is right. For a smart hummie, you’re a fucking idiot.” Rocket huffed and Tony blinked at him. “You’re dangerous, so what? We all are. You don’t seem that fazed about us.” Tony was never one to be afraid of danger, not unless it was actually trying to harm him or his. It’s why he’d willingly poke and prod the Hulk, he trusted the guy not to murder him. He felt a similar way with Sammy and, to some extent, the Guardians. He wouldn’t put all of his trust with them entirely, but so far they hadn’t lied to him or tried to trick him or even manipulate him. Hell, their first interaction together was leagues better than his first interaction with the Avengers or even SHIELD… Granted he held them at gunpoint, but they didn’t really seem too bothered by it… well, maybe Peter, but even then he was still pretty nonchalant.

He then wondered if they were often held by gunpoint, and grew concerned. Then again, he’s been held in gunpoint more times than he could count and he could count high.

“You don’t go boom when you’re upset.” Tony couldn’t help but point out.

“Neither do you. We’ve been here for some weeks now and so far so good, and we’ve made you upset several times.” Rocket continued talking before Tony could refute. “You were pretty pissed when I tried to steal one of Friday’s shoulder rockets.” Point.

“I’m not too keen on space.” Tony admitted as a last ditch effort. “It’s what made me explode during my cruise with the rogue space pirates.” Rocket laughed at his choice of words.

“Then don’t look out the window.” That was another fair point, but Tony still felt unsure. He was a risk they should be unwilling to take.

“You were supposed to agree with me.” Tony huffed petulantly.

“I am Groot.” Groot said snootily, and Rocket laughed. Tony frowned in mild confusion.

“We don’t agree with idiots.” Rocket helpfully translated, though Tony figured Groot might have used a different word choice. “Look, we actually like you. We were expecting some dickhead who thought he was better than everyone else and loved going into killing sprees. You’re decent company and not nearly as much of a dickhead as most of us. Even Gamora likes you, and she doesn’t like anything.” Rocket explained handing Tony a towel and some fresh clothes they had packed when he saw the engineer start getting up from the water. “If you’re really that worried about blowing us up because of your emotions, then just let Mantis touch you. She can calm anyone down with her weird alien shit.”

Tony didn’t really like it, but Rocket had a point. Though, he might burn Mantis on accident if she got to him too late. FRIDAY was clearly in favor of the Guardians whisking him away, and it would take him a long ass time before he could build a functional spaceship. He just now finished the engine, months into his forced planetary adventure. It was his biggest chance of getting out of here and he knew it. That didn’t mean he’d have to like it.

“I’ll have to think about it.” Tony finally said once he was fully clothed and mostly dry, which was a little harder to do with Groot refusing to let go of his shoulder… not that he minded. Rocket nodded and shrugged, accepting that this conversation was being put on hold until Tony was ready to bring it up again.

“If you do come with us though, I’m absolutely stealing that engine you made.” That was Rocket’s closing remark before he started making his way back to the camp, and that had Tony laughing.

“Yeah, okay. That’s fine.” Tony hummed, following Rocket through the forest. While they walked back to camp, they ended up talking amiably about safer topics, like technology or what the other idiots did at some point in time. Tony especially appreciated all of this trickery bullshit Rocket apparently did with the older Groot, someone Tony wished he could have met. In turn, Tony told Rocket about all of the crap he put Rhodey through. The two were laughing, making quips and joking around. It was all good fun until they reached camp. Their good mood soured almost immediately.

The thing about the forest is that all you see above you is tree leaves. The leaves are so dense and dark that it’s almost impossible to see through them, which was fine for the most part. Neither Tony, Rocket nor Groot were afraid of a darker, shadier environment. The problem was that it limited their awareness of the environment.

“They’re here.” Rocket hissed, and Tony could feel the rage and fear behind his words. Seeing so many spaceships coming down from the sky would do that to someone. The Dogs were here and it was obvious that they came for blood. Tony saw Gamora, Drax and Peter quickly loading everything into the Milano. FRIDAY and Sammy were together, both very clearly protective of each other. FRIDAY was quickly packing all of Tony’s valuables while Sammy watched over her. It seemed they had mere minutes before the Dogs would swarm them.

Rocket turned to Tony with a serious expression on his face, one that was half pleading half dreadful. “I hope you had enough time to think Tony, because we’re out of time.”

Chapter Text

Tony ran towards Sammy and FRIDAY as Rocket and Groot made their way towards the other Guardians. “FRI?” He asked, eyes wide. What were they going to do? Could he fight all of them? Maybe? It would certainly take him some time before he’d die in the fight, that much was certain.

“Boss, we need to leave.” FRIDAY said, pleaded really, with certainty. Tony understood, because how could he not? FRIDAY truly believed she had lost him not once, but twice in the short span of a day because of Rogers; maybe even three times if they were counting his near asphyxiation in space after making the ship he was on go boom. Not to mention, she’s been practically begging him to accept the Guardians’ invitation since they landed. She didn’t want to lose him, and he understood perfectly how that felt; he didn’t want to lose her either.

“Okay.” He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Okay.” He repeated, more confidently this time. Without a beat he started grabbing anything else he deemed important, and then he eyeballed the engine Rocket wanted and the communication device he had been using to send messages to Earth. He then looked at the Milano; it was too far away. The Dogs were already starting to land, and between getting there and taking off it would take too much time. Well, he could at least bring one.

He gritted his teeth and repulsor blasted the coms; he didn’t want to risk the Dogs finding out just where it was he was transmitting his messages. “Come on FRI, Sam. Let’s get out of here.” He called on his suit. FRIDAY grabbed the makeshift trunk she packed with the essentials and Tony grabbed the surprisingly portable engine.

In the Milano, Gamora and Rocket were starting the preparations to takeoff. They had to leave as soon as possible. “We go the moment we can.” Gamora said with a sad certainty. She thought they’d have more time to convince Tony, but she won’t risk her family for someone they had just met. She liked Tony, but he’s made his stance very clear. He didn’t want to join them, and that was fine. It had to be fine. She refused to worry over someone who didn’t want their help, someone who wasn’t a part of her family… even though he could have been.

Rocket didn’t say anything because he knew Gamora was right. He didn’t think he’d grow to like Tony in such a short period of time but the young terran was pretty great, actually. It was almost difficult to not like him. He just hoped he’d change his mind and tag along. “No, he’s coming.” He blinked not having expected Peter to disagree with Gamora on this, considering he’s been against recruiting the other terran from the start. “He has to.” Peter spoke this quietly, looking out at the still opened cargo door expectantly, hopefully.

“We are en route, ETA one minute.” FRIDAY’s voice was a blessing, even if it startled Peter half to death. Once he got over the small heart attack FRIDAY gave him, he couldn’t help the grin that formed on his face.

“You heard the lady! Get ready to leave in one minute!”

“Boss has requested for Mantis to be by his side when he arrives, he would also like to inform Rocket he has ‘brought you some goodies’.” Peter was a bit confused, but Rocket cackled in utter maniacal glee. Just what had the two of them been up to when they went to the forest? And why did Tony want Mantis to be with him? He shook his head, deciding to worry about this later when they had the time. For now, he was focused on helping Tony and Friday get on the ship and fuck off into space before the Dogs murder them all.

And Sammy, apparently, because of course Tony would want to bring his fucking cat with him. Well, whatever. Peter led them in quickly, trying not to frown at the engine Tony had decided to take with him. It wasn’t like they were in a rush or anything… really? You just had to bring the engine, Tony? Peter made a wild guess that Tony didn’t have his priorities in check. “Rocket said I needed to buy my way in with some tech goodies. Besides, it seemed like a waste to leave it here for some mutts to slobber over.” Tony shrugged as he explained. So maybe Peter didn’t hide his admittedly judgmental frown as well as he had hoped, oh well. He focused his energy on closing the bay’s doors and immediately ran to the cockpit, where Gamora and Rocket were preparing to take off.

“We’re all good to go.” He cheered. “Now let’s go!” He immediately went towards to cockpit and took the controls for the ship’s guns. He didn’t notice Tony’s apprehension as the ship began to lift off the ground, nor did he notice how Sammy and FRIDAY practically circled him as a response. He barely even noticed Mantis moving towards him like FRIDAY had asked her to. His only focus, now that everyone was on board, was to get everyone the hell out of there.

“Okay, what’s our game plan?” He heard Tony ask.

“We are currently not playing a game. There is no game to plan.” Drax immediately responded, looking intensely at the other Terran.

“Right. Metaphors.” Tony grumbled, and Peter couldn’t help but smirk in response.

“Run away and live.” He answered, starting up the weapon’s system. “Their ships are big in size, but relatively slow compared to Milano. With any luck, we can get away before they really give chase.”

“Do you guys have a cloaking device?” Tony asked with what sounded like a hint of hope. Peter frowned in confusion.

“Well, yeah. She’s not from the Stone Age Tony. It’s why I’m not shooting at them right now, don’t want to give out our position.” There was a moment of silence from Tony, as if he was processing something. Then again, the dude was always thinking. Peter could only muse what was going on in the inventor’s mind.

“Rocket, the moment we get out of here we are comparing and contrasting and I am not taking no for an answer!” Tony shouted, and immediately Rocket laughed. There was a nervous edge to it, considering the situation they were in right now, but it was genuine.

“Fine, but you’ll have to tell me who made you and Friday those suits.” Rocket called back. This time, it was Tony who laughed.

“You got yourself a deal, Ratchet.” Tony said sounding far more amused than he should be. Peter could only frown in confusion before forcing himself to focus back on the situation they were in. It didn’t look too good.

The Dogs weren’t called the Dogs for no good reason –they were the intergalactic version of bloodhounds on steroids. The Milano had just broken past the atmosphere before they were found, and not too long after they started to shoot. Shields were up and Peter was firing at the ships surrounding them as best he could. There were far too many ships, and they were bigger and more durable to boot. Peter was the optimist, but even he could tell that the outcome looked grim. Hell, it didn’t take long before the Milano’s shield capacity started to lower. It wouldn’t be longer before they would blow up.

The shitty part was they couldn’t just go into hyper-drive and get out of dodge, at least not while under heavy fire. They’re only hope was to outrun the dogs, but there wasn’t much they could do to outrun them now. Peter cursed, wondering if maybe he should have just dragged Tony onboard while he was sleeping. He was willing to bet Friday could be easily persuaded to assist him if he gave her space chocolate, maybe. His eyes darted to Tony and wondered if maybe he could figure a way out of this shit situation –he did beat the Chitauri and a whole ship of Ravagers after all.

Tony looked around the ship, noticing the tense atmosphere. Although he didn’t spend too much time with the Guardians, he could already tell they are the kind of people who tend to have a good time no matter what. This wasn’t their norm. He looked out one of the viewports, and took a deep breath. There were too many ships and the outcome was blatantly obvious. “Okay FRI, you’re with me right baby girl?” Immediately, several sets of eyes made their way towards the terran engineer. Gamora’s was apprehensive, Rocket’s was confused and Peter’s was oddly excited. Tony couldn’t help the grin that formed on his face.

“Yes boss, always.” He hummed in acknowledgement.

“Play Don’t Stop Me Now, Queen. It was nice knowing you guys, take care of my cat.” He winked at the Guardians and made his way to the cargo bay, he was delighted when it opened up just for him courtesy of FRIDAY. He engaged the suit, seeing FRIDAY fly right by him, and jumped out, completely ignoring several shouts calling him back. He was pretty sure he heard Rocket call him a suicidal idiot, but that could just be his imagination.

Tony could easily admit he missed the adrenalin of a good flight, though he was never too fond of the fights that sometimes came with it. Ever since Ultron he wasn’t really as free to fly around with the armor as he used to be, not to mention he also lost interest afterwards. And as for recent events, he was too focused on getting out of this weird ass planet for any joyrides and now he’s come to regret it a bit. Well, he would get to enjoy the ride now at least and if he died, then he would die having a good time.

Tony and FRIDAY worked together flawlessly, though that wasn’t much of a shocker. FRIDAY spent every day with Tony and assisting him with whatever he needed, including flying the Iron Man suit. She knew his train of thought almost as well as he did,and she would move accordingly. He smiled when he noticed the majority or the lasers were now focused on FRIDAY and himself, which meant the guardians had their chance to escape.

Maneuvering in space wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be, it was probably because there was no pesky friction in space and they were far enough away from any planets or other large masses to avoid gravity. Overshooting was a norm at first, but Tony was quick at adapting. And so, he easy glided through space, avoiding the majority of the projectiles sent his way with the rest being blown away with repulsor beams. He was aiming for what he thought were the engines of their ships, and for the most part it was working. Of course, there were far too many ships for his efforts to really do enough damage... but maybe in a couple of hours he could win.

“Boss! On your six!” FRIDAY warned him. He turned around quickly to assess his situation and… well fuck, that was one big ship with several big guns aimed his way. He wasn’t a fan of that. He gritted his teeth and put all energy on the repulsors on his feet, hoping he could get away from that shitshow before it killed him.

Apparently, he couldn’t… but he didn’t need to anyways because that ship was almost immediately blasted away. Tony blinked, and looked to the source. The Milano was still there. They hadn’t left. Tony had given them an opening to at least save their lives but they chose to stay. Tony felt irritation bubble up inside him. How could they just waste such a good opportunity to save themselves? Why the fuck were they still here when they could be somewhere safer? They were risking everything for what? A random guy who may or may not be helpful in their battle against Thanos?

“No man left behind Stark.” He heard Peter’s voice from his coms, almost as if an answer to his silent questions. “You’re a part of the team, can’t go dying on us now.” Tony could almost hear the smirk in the other man’s voice. “…Um, please tell me you have a plan to get us out of this shit.” And what could the mechanic to except give out a (admittedly slightly manic) laugh. They were absolutely fucked, but they were in it together. They were a team. Tony forced himself to take a deep breath and focus back on the situation.

“Kick names.” He answered, once more shooting a barrage of repulsor beams towards the enemy. He noticed that between FRIDAY, the Milano, and himself they were actually making a dent in the enemy. Maybe it wouldn’t take a couple of hours after all; maybe it would only take a few. He smiled shrewdly. Well, on the bright side he now knew those idiots wouldn’t leave him to die.

The fight felt almost one sided now, with FRIDAY and Iron Man doing quick attacks with high burst damage and the Milano running defense the Dogs seemingly didn’t know who to shoot at anymore and they were going down faster. It was tiring, but the constant stream of rock music did help in keeping the energy high. When Shoot to Thrill started playing FRIDAY noticed Iron Man’s attack speed elevated, if only a little.

“Where do you get all of these songs, anyways? Do you have a tiny Walkman in your suit?” Peter couldn’t help but ask while he shot at a ship that was coming dangerously close to Friday. With the firepower no longer entirely focused on the Milano, it was easier to fight.

“A tiny Walkman?” Tony squawked, “no way in hell would I keep something that outdated with me. The songs are just downloaded into my suit.” It was moments like these where he almost wished he were more machine than human, considering how exhausted he was getting. He grit his teeth and forced himself to keep going; he could not afford to stop now. Well, at least FRIDAY wasn’t having this problem.

“Wait, so they’re just with you? No tape required?” Peter remembered the Walkman as one of the latest technological advances in the music business. It felt almost a little disheartening to hear that something so precious to him was now considered outdated.

“None at all, Star-boy.” Peter only hummed in response, wondering how much different Terra was.

“Is Missouri still a thing?” Tony had to remind himself that this man was taken from Earth when he was still a kid as to not immediately call him an idiot. He had always believed that asking questions was a sign of intellect, so he couldn’t begrudge Peter for trying to find out more about his home planet…even if it felt like impossibly basic information.

“Yes, Missouri is still the 24^thstate in the United States of America. Were you from there?” Tony couldn’t help himself from asking, lowering the music just to hear the answer more clearly. He was almost immediately surprised by how ragged his own breathing sounded, not having heard it before. Fuck, he really was getting tired. No wonder focusing was starting to get tough.

“Yeah! But… what’s a state? And what is the united states of a merica?” It was then that Tony realized that he would seriously have to sit down with Peter at some point in time after this fuckfest of a fight and explain to him how Earth worked.

“Well, the US which is also known as USA, both short for United States of America, is a country-“

“Cut the talk and focus on the fight, we can’t afford to lose focus.” Gamora interrupted their conversation. Peter grumbled in disagreement, but Tony begrudgingly agreed. He was starting to see black spots in his vision, and he knew it wasn’t because space was dark.

“Boss, your glucose and carbohydrate levels are low.” FRIDAY suddenly warned with a worried tone. That did explain why he was feeling a bit lightheaded. He was thankful she didn’t broadcast this to the Milano; they needed to focus on their job of defense and not on whether or not Tony was still conscious. “Your diet is not nearly nutritional enough for you to engage in prolonged extraneous activities, which includes fighting as Iron Man. I recommend you return to the Milano, or hide somewhere until the fight is over.”

“It’s okay FRI, I can still fight for a bit longer.” He replied. He knew it wasn’t going to be long now before he passed out, but he knew he still had a bit of fight left in him. Tony refused to back away and leave everyone else out to dry.

“I can not properly apply all of my computing power to the fight if you are not well. I will be distracted and thus inefficient.” What a roundabout way of saying he’s making her lose focus. Tony sighed.

“Okay, what if I didn’t move but rather attacked from far away?” He asked. “I won’t be exerting as much energy as I am now, and I’ll still be able to help.”

“Far too dangerous, if they locate you and choose to fire there will not be much you can do to escape.” FRIDAY answered easily.

“One shot and I’m out.” Tony promised, already looking at the debris of a ship. It looked like it would be a decent enough vantage point since it was a bit farther away from the fight but still decently close to the Milano.

“One shot and you’re out.” She repeated, almost like an order. Tony smiled, knowing he should be feeling a bit annoyed that she was bossing him around… but he felt fondness instead.

“You got it FRI!” He responded chipperly, making his way to the wrecked ship. Thankfully, no one paid him much mind while he left the fight… they were probably too busy with dealing with FRIDAY as her attacks became more violent. He smiled delightfully.

“Tony, is everything okay?” He heard Peter call out to him from the coms.

“Yeah, peachy keen. I’m just changing up strategies.” He said, tactfully omitting the part where he was going to pass out any second now. Landing on the destroyed ship had felt blissful, if only because it meant he was no longer zipping around like a drunken fly in space shooting anything that moved. Man, he was going to take a long nap after this. He crouched down, realizing he had no need to stand up for this, and put his hands together. The nanotech was rather intuitive so it didn’t take him long to reshape it around his body. He merged both gauntlets together to form a makeshift canon; he then cut the power from his boots and any other part he deemed unnecessary, directing it all to his canon hands instead. Satisfied with his impromptu canon, he scanned the area for the best possible shot he could take; he only had one after all, it was best to make it count.

Many of the ships were too scattered apart, and he had no idea how far the beam would hit. He had hope it would reach at least the frontline, since it would contain most of the reactor’s power… maybe if he started charging it up beforehand and letting the power accumulate, it would be even more powerful. He could do that. As he was starting to power up, something caught his attention: there was a group of ships clumped together almost as a sort of defense. Wait, no, it was a sort of defense. Behind them seemed to be a larger ship, perhaps a mothership? It was a bit farther away and the beam might not even reach it, but if he took that out…

He quickly aimed the canon to the blockade, trusting both FRIDAY and the Milano to follow up with damage should he manage to break it. He poured all of the power he could into the shot, almost blowing himself up in the process. It was a fine balance over how much his suit could handle, but one Tony knew well enough after years of being Iron Man. He took a deep breath, calming himself in the process, and took his shot.

He had hoped it would’ve at least made a dent good enough for FRIDAY to follow up, but man was he wrong to hope for just that. Tony Stark was a genius weapons maker, so it was safe to say he knew how guns and missiles worked. He knew that the more force a weapon has, the more chance of a recoil; what he didn’t know was that his makeshift canon had a lot of fucking force. He was pretty thankful that they were in space and that there was no immediate surface behind him, otherwise he’d be in a world of pain. He was still flying backwards at a pretty impressive speed when he noticed the damage he did.

The blockade was gone and so was the mothership…and any other ship behind it.

Now that’s a lot of damage.

It felt like everything stopped, an almost unanimous cease-fire. No one did anything except maybe marvel at the sheer destructive power that Iron Man had. Tony took no time to readjust the Iron Man suit and give power back to his boots. Without friction, the inertia would keep him going until he reached a strong gravitational force (and who knew how long that would be). It took some time, but he steadied himself. Staying awake was starting to get harder, and he knew he was more of a liability now than he was an asset.

“Boss?” FRIDAY asked quietly.

“M’fine.” He mumbled. “One shot. M’out.” He knew he was slurring his words a bit, but his main focus was to get himself somewhere safe. “G’luck.”

“They are gone.” FRIDAY said almost immediately. “The remaining ships were disorganized, and it would seem they were ordered a tactful retreat.” Tony hummed. “The Guardians seem to be celebrating, perhaps it would be wise for us to join them.” When Tony didn’t say anything, FRIDAY continued. “I am going to your location and will assist you in your return.”

“K.” He heard himself say before he could no longer stand it and closed his eyes. He heard a couple of noises around him, but they drowned out rather quickly as his mind became further unconscious.

When he came to, Tony’s first thought was how comfortable he felt. His second thought was how horribly his head was pounding. He grunted, burrowing himself deeper into the fluff surrounding him. He was content with sleeping for an eternity at this point, he always felt tired after all with work and occasionally nightmares keeping him up. He grunted again when he felt something pocking his leg.

“I thought you said he was awake.” A familiar voice asked, but Tony couldn’t quite place a name to the voice. He felt comfortable enough with it though, as if it belonged to someone trustworthy. Well, whoever it was, Tony wanted them to leave him alone. He petulantly chose to ignore said voice and focus on the softness underneath him.

“He is in the process of waking up.” A second familiar voice responded, this one Tony could easily find a name for; after all, how could he ever forget that beautiful Irish lilt. He felt his lips curl as he continued to burry himself into whatever comfortable thing he was sleeping on. He grumbled when he felt something poke his leg again.

“He doesn’t look very awake to me.” The first voice argued. Tony assumed this was the individual who kept prodding him, the gull of some people.

“Lemme sleep.” Tony huffed, wanting the annoying first voice to just leave him alone. He almost successfully drifted back to sleep when he felt the soft material under him move ever so slowly, it was especially concerning since it was accompanied by a low growl. His eyes immediately snapped open and he could feel the adrenalin in his veins. He realized that he was lying on top of a big fucking feline. He wracked his brain for answers, only to realize that the big fucking feline was his big fucking feline. “Sammy?” He murmured, finally giving up on the notion of sleep.

“Rise and shine Tony!” The first voice, Peter, said far too chipperly for whatever ungodly hour it was… because it had to be some ungodly hour for Tony to feel this much like shit. Then again, they were in space, so it had to be some ungodly hour somewhere in some planet. He rests his case.

“Fuck you.” Tony answered, petting the white fur underneath him. The pounding on his head seemed to get louder as he woke up. “Fuck me.” He grunted at his raging headache. Peter laughed, clearly amused, and only made Tony’s headache worsen. “FRIDAY, do we have coffee?” Coffee tended to make his headaches worse, but at least it woke him up. Not to mention he was addicted and he hadn’t had coffee in months. Fuck he missed coffee.

“No, I’m afraid we do not.” She didn’t sound as concerned about the lack of coffee as Tony felt. Even though he knew she couldn’t ingest it, not having a fleshy body with a working digestive system, he still felt some offence at her lack of love for coffee. Didn’t they say that those who care for you should care about the things you care about? This felt like sacrilege.

“Then my life has no meaning.” He whined dramatically. He looked back at the white cat he had been laying on, smiling fondly at how both of her tails were wrapped around him almost protectively. “Okay, shenanigans aside, how did I end up here?”

“Well, Friday took you to the ship after you passed out and then Sammy pounced on you.” Peter explained with a small frown, most likely remembering the events he was talking about. He was leaning back on a wall, as if he’s been there for a while. Tony could admit that he almost looked suave, if only for the fact that Peter is almost the exact opposite of suave.

 “She… pounced on me?” Tony blinked, not quite understanding how that could have happened. Sammy was never one to hurt Tony, nor was she one to just… pounce on him? The most she ever did was lie on top of him and bathe him with space cat saliva.

“Yup. She took you from Friday and refused to let anyone come close to you. She even dragged you to the farthest point of the ship she could find away from us.” Tony looked from Peter to Sammy and noticed the big cat looking back at him with her golden eyes. He was never letting this one go, and that was final.

“Thanks Sam.” Tony smiled with appreciation. “You’re the best.” He frowned when he looked at her… was it him, or was she bigger than she was before?

“Of fucking course the murder cat is the best.” A new voice joined the conversation with a huff, Rocket. Tony looked at him, noticing the alien looking rather pissed. “Gamora is going to kill you, by the way. Not literally, we like you, but you’re so fucking dead.” He cackled almost menacingly.

“I’m getting the sense that you are mad.” Tony noted blandly. “Why are you mad?”

“For a genius, you’re such a fuckin’ idiot.” Rocket huffed. Tony could only look to FRIDAY for help.

“It would seem that the Guardians are fond of you and do not appreciate the fright you gave them.” She helpfully surmised, although he swore he could feel an almost unhappy gaze from her. Suddenly he was absolutely terrified at the idea of FRIDAY with a holographic body capable of glaring at him, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be scarier than Pepper on a bad day… Of course, he wasn’t terrified enough not to give her a holographic body. He couldn’t wait until he saw her as her for the first time.

“The fright I gave them?” Tony repeated a bit sluggishly, sleep not quite leaving him just yet. Not to mention his headache made it hard to really focus. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He didn’t really know what he was apologizing for, but he was used to saying sorry for things that wasn’t his fault anyways. So, whatever, it didn’t matter. He leaned back onto Sammy. Why did he feel like shit?

“A fuckin’ idiot.” Rocket repeated, seemingly more annoyed. “Whatever, I’m going to work on the engine.” He left at that and Peter sighed, shaking his head. He pushed himself off the wall and walked closer to where Tony was, eyeing Sammy hesitantly all the while. Tony swore Sammy let out a pleased purr, as if Peter being terrified of her was something to brag about. Yeah, she was never leaving.

“Tony, when Friday brought you in we thought you were dead.” Peter explained. Oh, that made sense. They needed him alive to fight Thanos, so his death would kind of be inconvenient. He felt much more tired after that pleasant realization. It seemed there was always something he had to do before he got to rest. He started thinking about Earth, and the Avengers. They never seemed to care when he almost died, except for maybe that one fight with the Chitauri. Hell, Thor even chocked him one time. He had bruises on his neck for days. Next time he saw Thor, he was going to repulsor beam him –if he ever got to see Thor again, that is. Did he even want to see Thor? Did he want to see any of the Avengers? God, why was his head hurting so fucking badly?

Peter smiled down at him and offered Tony his hand. “I know we haven’t really known each other longer than a couple of weeks, but it’s like Rocket said: we like you. It may be temporary but you’re a part of our team now… though I kind of hope it ends up being permanent.” He said the last part with a sheepish smile. Tony blinked, dumbly accepting the other man’s hand.

“Why?” He found himself asking. Sure, Tony liked the Guardians, but that’s the norm. Whenever Tony meets cool new people he instantly gets invested, but that doesn’t work the other way around. He’s just a means to an end to everyone else, the rich man who can do anything for you if you manipulate him well enough. Peter smiled and pulled him up.

 “Are you okay?” Peter asked when he stumbled forward. No. Tony was far from okay. He hadn’t been okay in so long, not since the Chitauri invasion if he was being honest; but that wasn’t what Peter was asking.

“Head hurts.” He answered instead. Peter nodded with a sympathetic smile.

“Friday told me you haven’t been getting nearly enough nutrients for your metabolism. I don’t really know what carbohydrates are, but man do you need lots of them.” He explained. “She said you’d feel kind sick until you get what your body needs.” Yeah, that made sense. Tony realized he’d have to really figure out how Extremis worked with his body in tandem with the arc reactor. Right now he just knew the reactor kept him from exploding, and that was about it.

“That’s reasonable.” He answered, already planning on how he could further test out Extremis when he got back to his lab on Earth. He needed to fully understand the changes in his body if he wanted to make the best of it.

“You really fit in Tony. You don’t judge us, and you don’t want us to be who we aren’t. You’re also very likeable… so it’s a no brainer that I’d want you to stay with us even after we defeat Thanos.” Peter finally answered Tony’s question. Tony opened his mouth to respond, but he couldn’t really think of anything to say. He was likeable? They wanted him? It felt too good to be true, honestly. He thought the Avengers were a family to him, but where did that leave him? Even Obie lied easily about caring for Tony. But… the Guardians didn’t leave him to die and they even joined him in the fight. The Avengers never really helped him out; to this day he can still remember SHIELD’s silence when he was fighting Killian and his terrorism.

“Anyways, we should get you something to eat.” Peter started leading him out of the room, it looked like a storage space, and towards what Tony remembered being the kitchen. FRIDAY had decided to stay with Sammy in the storage space, though Tony couldn’t quite understand why. Then again, since she was integrated with the Milano now she was technically always there.

“What happened with the Dogs?” Tony asked curiously. Peter helped him to a seat on the table and maneuvered himself behind the kitchen counter. He moved to the fridge and grabbed some things.

“Well, after you took out a big chunk of them with that beam of yours, they kinda tucked tail and ran.” Peter chuckled and Tony found himself smiling along. It was easy to smile with Peter, Tony realized. Honestly, it was easy to smile with any of the Guardians. “That was pretty sick, by the way. How’d you do that? Not even Rocket could figure out what you did.” Tony smiled, already knowing how he could get back on Rocket’s good side.

“It’s all the nanotech that makes up my suit, I rearranged it so it would make a more effective weapon.” He explained it easily. Peter frowned at him, probably trying to understand what was said to him. It was kind of cute, actually. Tony grinned, tapping on the arc reactor to call out parts of his suit, just the gauntlets really. “Basically, I merged my two repulsors to make a bigger, badder repulsor.” He demonstrated it as he spoke. “I also cut power everywhere else and focused it all on the singular repulsor.” He called back his suit, feeling the tiredness from before start to hit him. Right, he was still pretty much malnourished.

“That’s so cool!” Peter said wide-eyed. He smiled brightly before going back to his previous task. Tony then realized that Peter was making something for him. When was the last time someone made something for him? Well, there was that one time with May… but that was so long ago. And before that? Who knew?

“Yeah, I think so too.” Tony said honestly. He really did like his nanotech, and was impossibly proud of himself when he got it to work. He wished he had more time to play with it and see what else he could add on to the little nanobots. “I could show you some other things I made, if you’d like?” He offered, not really sure how else he could keep the conversation going. It was odd, how bad he was at talking sometimes. He knew how to put on the business man act and talk with politicians, scientists, reporters and possible business partners for hours on end, always getting the conversation to go where he wanted it to go, but whenever it was with someone who actually mattered it could sometimes be hard to figure out what to say; to figure out how not to mess up.

“Wait… you made that?” Peter stopped what he was doing to stare incredulously at Tony. “Did you make Friday’s too?”

“Well, yeah.” Immediately, under Peter’s gaze, Tony felt awkward. Maybe it would have been better if he just kept quiet? Was Peter going to ask him to build him a suit too? He felt his headache worsen.

“Dude,” Peter started, “that’s so unfair!” He whined. “You’re hot, talented andsmart? I mean, I knew you were a tech guy who could build an engine… but you built your suit too?” Tony blinked, not expecting that sort of reaction from the guy. “Give me a break or I’m going to fall for you hard.” That was… definitely not what Tony expected to hear from him. He was going to say something, like how he wasn’t really all that great, but Peter kept going. “Actually, I think I already did.” He hummed. “Stop making me fall harder jackass.” He paused before grinning. “Or do. After all, who am I to stop you?

“Uh.” Tony said intelligently, still not quite understanding the words that kept leaving Peter’s mouth. Was this another mock flirtation? The two of them sometimes flirted with each other with no real meaning behind it, but no, this felt genuine. Maybe Peter was just trying to raise his spirits? That made sense, right? Or maybe Peter remembered that colloquialism wrong, he hadn’t been to Earth in a long time after all. Tony’s mind kept whirling with possibilities, but when he looked up at Peter he could only see the other grinning.

“You know, I kind of like leaving you speechless.” He grinned as Tony’s mind kept blanking. It was definitely because of his health not being optimal, that’s most certainly why he can’t think straight right now. It absolutely wasn’t because a relatively hot guy was flirting with him right now. “I wonder how many times I’ll be able to do that.” There was a hint of a challenge in his voice, as if he set himself a new goal.

“You’re flirting with me.” Tony decided the best course of action was to state the obvious.

“I am.” Peter answered smoothly. “And I intend to keep doing so, unless it freaks you out?” He was offering Tony an out.

“Not really.” Tony said truthfully. He was far too used to being flirted with for him to ‘freak out’ about it. Honestly, he’d take Peter’s brand of flirting any day compared to what most of the people he was forced to interact with did. He wasn’t even really averse to the idea of Peter and him being an item, he just… hadn’t really thought much about it.

“Great, in that case Tony Stark, I’m going to woe you.” Peter said confidently, as though he truly believed he’d get Tony to like him back.

“Don’t be too cocky. Many have tried and many have failed.” Tony challenged, to which Peter beamed.

“Well, I said I would use my charms to get you to come with us. So far so good.” Tony had to admit the other had a point there, even though it was Rocket who ended up convincing Tony to tag along.

“Fair point.” Tony hummed. “I guess only time will tell.”

“I like my chances.” Peter winked. “By the way, not to change subjects on you but you should really think of a way to appease everyone else.” He started adding in some spices, or at least what Tony assumed were spices, to whatever it was that he was cooking.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked, too tired to care that he couldn’t figure out what the other meant. Normally, he was able to make at least somewhat of an educated guess as to not look like an idiot, but here he was: looking like an idiot.

“Rocket and Gamora are kind of really mad at you; Drax keeps thinking you’re a kid that needs to be protected; Mantis is still getting over the overload of emotions she got off us when we thought you were dead; and we had to keep Groot from attaching himself to you to keep you from running into danger. Not to mention Rocket and Gamora were starting to make plans to kidnap you from Sammy, they were so anxious the entire time you wouldn’t wake up.” Peter explained, chuckling a bit at the end. Tony could only imagine what kind of sight the young sapling trying to get to him would be, but his bet was that it was probably a funny one.

“So… Gamora and Rocket are mad at me because they thought I was dead? And Drax is guilty?” Tony raised a brow.

“I guess?” Peter sighed, frowning a bit as he thought about what he was going to say next. Gamora would be so proud of him. “I guess they’re mad that you didn’t tell us what you were doing, and that you thought we’d just leave you there. They don’t like the idea of you getting yourself killed to save us. You did more than enough by just helping us fight them.”

What Peter just said made Tony reevaluate the Guardians for the nth time since he woke up. He couldn’t help but continue to compare the Guardians to the Avengers. At first he thought they would be far more similar than he’d feel comfortable with, especially with them having a redhead assassin and a big, big man who liked to fight. Now, he can only see how different they are. With the Avengers what he did was never good enough, and he was never good enough. He had nearly gotten himself killed so many times and they expected him to do more, to do better. The Guardians were mad at him for it, wanting him to live and not just produce results.

“And what about you?” He found himself asking, wanting to know where Peter stood in all of this.

“I feel the same way, but I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I was mad at you for it. I do dumb shit all the time.” He shrugged, turning off the stove and grabbing a plate. “I’m also a bit thankful that you did what you did. You really saved us there.” He added. “Just don’t do it again?” He gave Tony what the inventor could only assume were an attempt at puppy dog eyes.

“I will make no such promises.” Tony said honestly, because he knew if he had to do it all over again than he would. He’d try to look for a better alternative, but he’d do what he could to avoid being in that situation. That’s the best he could offer. “But I’ll try.”

“Good enough for now.” Peter shrugged, putting the plate of what looked like mystery meat in front of him. “Now eat up, don’t want you malnourished on my watch.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Thanks.” He said eager to eat whatever Peter gave him. He didn’t know what it was, but he’d bet his bottom dollar that it would taste better than the raw meat Sammy made him eat. Besides, Peter really looked like he knew what he was doing, and it was actually pretty nice of him to do something like this for Tony. The engineer took his fork with a smile.

“Just for the record this isn’t me trying to woe you… this is a threat.” Peter said the moment Tony stabbed his fork in the meal Peter prepared for him.

“A threat?” Tony asked with his brows furrowed, but when Peter didn’t say anything he just shrugged and took a bite. Tony’s experienced many flavors in his life, from the five star restaurants he’s frequented to the fast food joints to the shit they gave him in Afghanistan… but this? What Peter made for him? He’s never tasted anything quite like this. He wished he never tasted this at all, actually. Simply put, this was awful. He honestly did his best not to gag, fully trusting Extremis to make sure this food doesn’t poison him. Goodbye to his bottom dollar.

“If you ever pass out on us or scare us like that again, this is the kind of shit we’re going to make you eat.” Peter grinned mischievously. Tony glared at him before taking another bite, mostly out of spite.

“It’s delicious. Thank you.” He said tersely, not at all enjoying how the other was laughing at his expense. “I’ll be sure to repay your kindness.”

“I’d happily accept a kiss… actually, not before you brush your teeth. Maybe just a hug or a pat on the back instead?” Tony was going to strangle this man. He was going to die. Peter grinned chipperly. “Be sure to eat it all, I worked very hard on it. It has all of the nutrients Friday said you’d need to start feeling better.” Well, at least Peter’s God-awful meal served a purpose. Tony didn’t bother with a response, deciding to put all of his energy into not throwing up. He never thought he’d be done with this torture dish, but it thankfully only took him a couple of really long minutes to force it down.

“Please, never cook for me again.” He said bitterly while putting his empty dish on the sink.

“But a way to a man’s heart is through the stomach, right?” Tony knew he was joking, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t glare. Peter only laughed.

A stray thought crossed Tony’s mind: he could get used to this. He’s been burned so many times that he’s honestly so scared to reach out again; hell, he still isn’t quite over what happened in Siberia. It will probably take him a long while and a couple of therapy BARF sessions before he could move past it. He was so damaged and broken, and so scared to get even more damaged and broken, but he couldn’t help but believe that the Guardians were worth the risk. He couldn’t help but think how they never gave up on him, not even at the face of danger.

 Tony smiled to himself. Yes, he thought, I’ll try one more time.

Because they were worth it.