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Scott was out of town for the weekend, so Quill had the bed to himself. It never felt right to feel the other side of the bed as cold as it was when he was home. In the past, he loved having the bed on his ship to himself and always laid right in the middle of it, but after meeting Scott that changed. It changed the moment they started to share a bed. Quill had to keep to one side and that habit stuck with him even while he was out in space. The coldness of the bed on his ship didn't nearly feel as wrong as it did than his home one did because Scott never came to space with him. Scott has been in the ship's bed but it was always when the Milano was in the tower's hangar or Quill flew the ship around Earth.
The celestial never truly slept when he was home and Scott's side of the bed was cold and empty. One of the two people he promised to protect was not in reach and it bothered him. Of course he knew Scott was capable of taking care of himself, but Quill already almost lost him once, and another time he should have escorted him. Scott wouldn't have more scars on his right wrist if he did. Quill definitely blamed himself for that incident with the hunter, but he didn't say anything to Scott because he knew the younger man would say that it wasn't his fault. He was there to protect him from further harm...blah blah blah.
The bedroom door clicks open and the pirate listens as feet quietly shuffle over to the bed and a hand reaches out to shake his shoulder. He grunts in response and finally blinks his eyes open to find Cassie standing by his side of the bed.
"Wha's wrong baby girl?" Quill asks sleepily.
"I...um...I had a nightmare and I couldn't go back to sleep. Can I stay in here with you?" Cassie whispers shyly.
"Yeah...yeah...course...c'mon."
After the incident when Diana turned he and Scott into animals and Scott almost being killed by a poacher, Quill rearranged their bedroom so that their bed was shoved into one corner, away from the door and the windows. Scott was a little miffed with the Celestial's overprotectiveness but didn't bother arguing, and Quill had taken the side closest to said door and windows. If anyone wanted to get to Scott, they would have to get through Quill first, and if Cassie needed help he would be out the door in no time.
Quill buries his face back into his pillow as his daughter climbs over his back to get into the bed, and his protective side calms a little. At least one of the ones under his protection was right here with him...he wouldn't need to race out of the bedroom. Diana and Valerie had their brothers and parents, but Cassie (and Scott) just had him. Sure, they had the Avengers as well to go to for help, but this was his family and he had an obligation and want to protect them.
"Good night Papa." Cassie says after she curls up under the blankets.
"Night Sunshine."
He slept a little better once he used his Gaze one last time to check on Scott (who was sleeping peacefully in his hotel room), only woke once to find that Cassie had curled closer to him at one point in her sleep, and then slept on until morning. When he woke again, Cassie was gone and the quick look in at Scott found the younger man bored out of his mind. Quill didn't know where he was, but didn't bother trying to figure it out since Scott wasn't in any danger. The smell of breakfast was distracting him anyway.
Quill gets out of bed and leaves the bedroom to walk down the stairs and join Cassie in the kitchen, snagging the toast that just popped up from the toaster. He butters the toasted bread and bites into it as he sits at the counter with a grin.
"You spoil me."
Cassie snorts. "I have to or you'd probably blow up the tower, and since Dad isn't here…"
"Sex deprivation can be deadly you know."
"Eww." Cassie scrunches her nose and points toward omelet fixings. "That's what you have to choose from."
Quill frowns. "Slim pickings."
"We can always go grocery shopping today."
"There's no bacon?! We might have to. I'll brave it." The celestial looks up at the ceiling. "We can always ask-"
"Already did. Mom said Harley and Tony ate all of their bacon and he has to go grocery shopping too." Cassie interrupts and Quill looks back down at her with a raised brow.
"Why don't you just go with Stephen then? Don't drag me to that hellhole."
"You need to get used to it."
Quill snorts. "There is no getting used to the grocery store when new things keep popping up...and who's the adult here?"
"Sometimes I wonder." Cassie snarks.
"Very funny. Don't sass me or I'll ground you."
"Not if you want an omelet!" She responds in a sing-songy voice.
Quill chuckles in response and pushes the fixings he wants toward Cassie and watches her make him a couple of omelets. He was so grateful that she liked cooking and was willing to make him breakfast. What she didn't know was that Bucky, Wanda, and Stephen were giving him lessons when they had free time...and Tony had been giving him different lessons. How to speak and understand French without the use of his translator. It was always turned off when he was down in the lab with the billionaire, and Quill was at the point where he could understand the language perfectly and could hold a conversation with only a few slip ups. The French was for Scott though (although it was nice to pick up Terran languages; he was already picking up Italian with how often Tony spoke it) to see if the younger would swoon if he used it like Tony used foreign languages with Stephen.
He was actually planning on testing that when Scott got home.
The cooking? He could do that safely and well now too. Quill just wanted to wait when both Scott and Cassie went out for the day or whatever and make dinner. He was looking forward to the surprised looks that would be on their faces. They would be skeptical at first he was sure, but he would blow their minds in the end.
"Hey hey hey!" Quill reaches out and grabs Cassie's wrist to stop her from sneaking in what he recognized as kale. "Don't put that garbage in my omelet!"
The girl huffs. "You need a green vegetable!"
"I'm the adult! If I don't want-" Quill stops when Cassie gives him a scathing look. "Look...there's some spinach. Put that in instead." He relents.
Cassie just had his health in mind and he couldn't be angry about that. It didn't matter if he was a god...and although he would never admit it out loud, he did feel a lot better after moving in with Scott and Cassie. She always made sure he ate at least one healthy thing in each meal and annoyingly monitored his Skittles intake. She did it to Scott too, so the couple always ate what they could when Cassie wasn't home. It made them feel like little kids.
After breakfast, Quill washed the dishes and then opened the fridge and grinned when he saw a can of whipped cream sitting innocently in the door. He grabs it, closes the door, and shakes it before spraying some of the whipped cream into his mouth. It didn't take long for Cassie to jump onto his back and try to take the can from him.
"Lemme have some!"
"No! You made me eat a vegetable!" Quill jokes as Cassie continues to reach past his head.
"You're still alive!" She argues.
"I can feel it poisoning me!"
"You're a big baby! That makes me the adult so give me the whipped cream!"
"Nope!"
Quill reaches back to try and pry the teenager off of his back, and they both freeze and look toward the elevator when it opens and a couple the celestial doesn't recognize step off. The pirate growls and just before his powers start to come to the surface, Cassie pats his shoulder.
"It's okay. That's my mom and stepdad." She says as she jumps off Quill's back.
Maggie and Paxton. Shit. Scott was planning on introducing Quill to them since they eloped, they've both been so busy lately that neither had the time. Scott didn't even get the chance to tell Cassie's mother that he was dating, let alone married again. Quill was a complete stranger.
"We were in town and thought we would stop by to say hi." Maggie says to Cassie when she approaches her mother. "Where's your dad?"
"Business trip." Cassie says and Quill winces when Paxton frowns.
"He left you here alone?" He asks.
"Of course not! Quill is here and so is the rest of the team."
Quill figured that was probably the best time to introduce himself so he stepped forward and held out his hand.
"Peter Quill."
Maggie stares at him while Paxton takes his hand and shakes it. "Oh my god you're huge." She immediately smacks her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud." She shakes his hand with a blush but then turns his hand when she notices the ring on his finger. "You're married? Who's the lucky lady?"
Quill smirks. "Guy actually. I'll let you guys catch up."
Cassie rolls her eyes when Maggie touches Quill's arm with a silent 'wow', and drags her and her stepfather into the living room before Paxton can get jealous. Quill took to sitting around in the kitchen and playing on his phone while he ate whipped cream, and heard Cassie telling her other parents all about Quill. Except for the part that he was married to Scott. She knew that wasn't really her place to tell them and the pirate appreciated it. She did tell them he was a god though. Considering what the Avengers were made up of, they weren't the least bit skeptical.
A little more than an hour passed when the elevator opened again and Scott stepped off, dropping his bag off to the side and making a beeline for Quill. The celestial was barely out of his seat when the younger jumped into his arms and started a very nice but rather awkward makeout session. Awkward because Quill knew Maggie was in the other room.
"You have no idea how cold hotel beds are when you aren't in them with me."
Quill chuckles. "Probably just as cold as our bed when you aren't here."
He kneads Scott's ass with his hands and the younger moans quietly into his mouth until Quill suddenly releases him back down to his feet. The younger whined quietly but refused to keep his mouth off of his celestial husband...until Maggie cleared her throat. Quill keeps himself from laughing when Scott's eyes widen, and the younger slowly pulls away from his husband to face his ex-wife. She and Paxton were standing in the entryway looking surprised, and Cassie...she just looked amused.
"This was not how I wanted to tell you." Scott finally says after a few silent, tense moments.
"...I think I can let it slide. Cassie has told me all about him in the past hour and I believe she's completely safe with him. You wouldn't leave her with him otherwise." Maggie says. "Also, Mom number two wouldn't let him near her either. God or not."
That was true. Maggie knew Stephen and trusted his judgement. She trusted Scott's too when it came to Cassie because his daughter meant everything to him. It was still nice to know that Maggie trusted Quill to take care of Cassie. He was already doing it and Cassie even told her mother that. Scott did too when he sat down with them in the living room to properly catch them up on what was going on and his relationship with Quill. The celestial sat with them and was content to listen, but when Paxton pointed out Scott's scars, Quill clenched his fist and left the living room. He couldn't bring himself to look at the doubt in Maggie and Paxton's eyes when they found out how Scott go them. It was possible they wouldn't trust Quill with Cassie as much if he couldn't do something as simple as protect Scott.
He didn't even realize that he stayed quiet for the rest of the day. Quill kept to himself and zoned out during their conversations, and at dinner, Scott had to nudge him to get his attention. Apparently Paxton had asked him some sort of question that he missed entirely. It was a question that he could give a simple one word answer, but based on the other man's expression, he had been hoping for more. After dinner, the other four decided to watch a movie, but Quill excused himself for the night and went up to the bedroom. Maggie and her husband would be staying in the guest room before they continued traveling, so Quill wasn't worried about their accommodations or being an even worse host.
He didn't go to bed though. He alternated between prowling the bedroom and standing at the windows looking out across the city lighting up the dark of night. Quill eventually stopped at the windows and stood there for a long time as he got lost in thought. He didn't want to be the reason Cassie was taken from Scott. From him. She was as much his daughter as she was to Scott, Paxton, and Maggie.
The celestial fiddles with one of his space tools as he looks out the window, and almost jumped out of his skin when a hand touches and trails up his back. Quill looks down as Scott walks around to his front and wraps his arms around the god's shoulders and buries his face into his collarbone.
"What's going on Spaceman? You were weirdly quiet today." Scott mumbles.
"...they saw your scars."
To the younger's credit, he seemed to pick up on Quill's train of thought. "They're not going to take Cassie away. I told them neither time was your fault but you were there in the end."
Quill reaches up to grab Scott's right arm and pull it away from his shoulders to look at the scars on that wrist. "This is my fault."
Scott sighs and follows his gaze to his wrist. "No it is not...I won't have this argument with you whenever I get hurt. What's important is that I'm still standing here. Both times I could have been dead. Once by sickness, and the other by a bullet...but you prevented it both times."
"Barely." Quill presses a soft kiss to Scott's damaged wrist. "I can't lose you Sugar...I literally cannot handle losing one more person."
Scott nodded against his collarbone, but Quill refused to elaborate any further. He never told the younger about the first time Scott was taken. He saw red when the Avengers told Quill that Scott was missing for three weeks, and he was incredibly close to losing control when he found the younger thief hurt, sick, and dying. No one told Scott that he temporarily stopped breathing and Quill went berserk when they thought him dead.
Even now, after gaining more control over his powers, there was a very real chance that if Scott were to die, Quill would permanently lose control of himself and his powers. Not even Cassie or the younger girls would be able to calm him down.
He could cause global destruction.
"Maggie is jealous by the way."
Quill blinks and focuses back down at Scott to find an impish smile on his face. "Jealous? About what?"
"That my husband is…" Scott pulls away just enough to drop his hands from Quill's shoulders and trace the muscles straining against the older man's shirt. "...big and muscly. Her words. Not mine."
"I've heard you say something similar while drunk off your ass."
"I never said she was wrong."
Quill smiles and lifts Scott up by the back of his thighs, walking to the side just a few inches to press the younger's back against the nearest wall. A pleased growl escapes the older man when Scott reaches up to run his hands through Quill's hair, and the celestial gently noses at the scars on the younger thief's neck. It was a way to test the sensitivity without hurting him, and if he didn't flinch, that was the god's all clear.
"She also noticed that I look a little younger." Scott moans out quietly when Quill nibbled gently on unblemished parts of his neck. "I told her why."
"You're due for another dose my little fox." Quill rumbles and Scott shivers at the godly undertone.
"You make me sound like an addict."
"I know I am." Quill glances at the floor to ceiling windows out of the corner of his eye. "Want to test the durability of the windows?"
Scott's eyes widen as his hands and legs cling tighter to the celestial. "Not with your strength!"
Quill chuckles as he moves away from the wall and toward their bed. Maybe next time. Right now, he was going to give his lover a proper welcome home. Complete with love bites, bruises, and maybe even a limp...definitely a limp.
He was just glad his bed wasn't devoid of Scott anymore.