Archive of Our Own

To be back in space was not something Thor expected to ever happen after the five years he had spent in new Asgard. Even when he made the decision, he hadn't expected to stay away for too long. But he found this new team to be somewhat pleasant company. A new team, new adventure everyday. And a new way of life, one he so desperately needed.

The God of thunder hummed along to the song playing on the Zune while cleaning the metal parts that Quill had dumped in front of him this morning.

"Bring them back when you're done." Quill said before turning to leave.

Thor replied around a smirk, "What's the magic word?" He called back causing Quill to freeze in his path.

"The magic words are, I'm the captain, I need those parts and I want them so clean I can see my face in them." Quill replied with a smirk of his own.

Thor hummed as if deep in thought as he looked over the grubby pieces of metal. He picked up one that was particularly dirty, practically covered in oil and grease and held it out to Quill,
"This one kind of looks like you."

All at once the smirk dropped from Quill's face, quickly chased away by a deep scowl. He turned to leave once again. "Just do it, please."

It had been the same for the last few months since Thor had joined the team. For the most part, Thor kept to himself, not really wanting to be in the way on their current quest to find Gamora. He was given his own space with a place to sleep and a place to train, which is how he passed most of the time when he wasn't doing something Quill asked him to, so he never really felt the need to leave his room.

But that wasn't to say the Guardians didn't make an effort to get to know him. Mantis' shy personality was endearing and her empathic powers helped him to sleep. The offer of help was hers, not his. Drax made him laugh as his bluntness and habit of taking everything literally made everyone else frustrated. The two of them seemed to form a bond over their losses. Groot seemed fascinated by the God of thunder and was always more than happy to communicate with the tree in his own language. Nebula, much like himself, preferred to keep to herself, though when they did speak he did seem to feel a sense of kinship with her.

It was as Rocket said, he would fit right in with the Guardians because they didn't fit in anywhere. Those words brought a feeling of pride within Thor to be a part of such a team. He had been made to feel very welcome aboard the Benetar.

For the most part.

It was at Tony's funeral when Rocket made him the offer. It was during the wake, he had been speaking with Bruce in the garden when the raccoon approached him and asked to speak privately. Thor hadn't been sure what he was expecting the raccoon to say to him given there was a long pause after Bruce left them to it.

"How ya doin there, slightly bigger version of pirate-angel?" Rocket began, making Thor snort at the nickname.

"Good. Really good, you know, good as can be." Thor answered being fully aware he was rambling. He ached to have a drink in his hands again and his bones ached from battle. But today was not a day for remembering the bad times they had all been through.

"So...uh...what are ya plannin to do, you know, now that it's all over?" The raccoon asked him. Thor couldn't help but appreciate the fact that he didn't say the name he had been trying to wipe from his memory for so many years.

There was another pause as Thor paused to think of an answer. Even when he was sober for the first time for as long as he could remember, he couldn't seem to speak the words his mind wanted to say. Realising that Rocket was still waiting for him to answer, he shook his head, "Umm.. I don't know, go home I suppose. I'll bet Korg has missed me, he'll probably be waiting for me with drinks and video games right now, I imagine." He finished with a chuckle hoping to make the conversation lighthearted.

When he looked back to Rocket he didn't see any trace of amusement or content in his furry face. If anything the raccoon seemed saddened by his words. His eyebrows forming a  backwards V shape. Rocket hummed in thought before jumping up on the table where Thor was sitting. But he wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Alright, now listen to what I'm about to say, big guy, because I'm not one for the mushy stuff and I don't like sayin things twice."

Not willing to take his chances in ignoring the raccoon, Thor's eyes wandered back to Rocket, who hummed in satisfaction when he appeared to have caught the God of thunder's attention.

"When I met you, you weren't exactly Mr brightside, I mean you just lost your family and all. After five years I don't really know what I was expecting when I saw you again and I'll be honest with you, pal, I've never seen someone look so miserable. I know I'm a asshole and I know I'm the last guy who should be questioning your life choices. But do you really want to spend another five years like this?"

The look Thor gave him was nothing short of hopeless. "What else is there for me to do, rabbit? I've ignored my people for five years wallowing in my own failure, if anything Valkyrie has been a better king than I have. We won the battle and put the universe to rights once again at the loss of two of the bravest people I ever knew. Thanos is dead. What is left for me to do?"

"You could come with us."

The quick reply from his friend made Thor pause before he actually managed to comprehend what Rocket had said. "What?" Thor asked as if he was certain he had misheard.

Rocket rolled his eyes, "What did I just say about saying things twice?" Though he didn't appear that bothered, "I said, you could come with us. If you want to that is." He added while waving him off.

"You.. you want me to come with you?" Thor asked in disbelief. After seeing the state he was in, why would he want Thor staying with them. He'd proven just how much his company was worth over the last few days. They'd be better off leaving him to it, hell, they'll probably forget he ever existed in the next few days.

Rolling his eyes even harder the raccoon snorted, "Don't make a big deal out of it, I just thought that you would be better off away from all of this. With Gamora gone there's room for another team member, until Quill finds her anyway and even then that doesn't matter, we'll work something out." Rocket explained. Thor felt his brow involuntarily raise in shock at the rare amount of kindness in the raccoon's voice.

"Plus I know Drax and Nebula like you well enough and Groot seems to think you're the coolest thing in the universe so, that's good enough for me." Rocket shrugged his shoulders.

Thors brow dipped to match the frown of uncertainty etched onto his face, "Are you really sure you're all okay with me tagging along? I don't want to impose or step over any boundaries."

"Thor," Rocket made him pause, "I wouldn't have offered if I thought you'd do any of that. You and I both know you'll regret staying here." 

Thor sighed as he thought of everything that would happen the moment he went back home to new Asgard. The people would probably welcome him home, he would be greeted by Brunhilde, who would propose a celebration. Not that he would blame her, after so long living in misery, the people deserved a victory. He would retire to his little house, sitting in his chair by the window, taking in the drones of white noise from the TV and staring off into space.

The God of thunder shook off the feeling of dread at the thought of even returning to that place. It wasn't just new Asgard. Earth itself was once what he called a second home, he thought the same thing when he brought his people here to live a life in colour, where they would be safe. Now it just made him feel cold and lifeless and really just reminded him of everything he had lost.

He couldn't stay here. Earth wasn't his home anymore.

"Okay." Thor found himself saying.

Rocket quirked a brow at him, "Okay?"

Thor attempted a smile at him in return, "Okay."

He found himself mildly surprised when Rocket smiled with what looked like relief, "Well in that case, I'd get packing if I were you, Thunder. We leave tomorrow at dawn."

It had been a few months, while living with the Guardians on the Benetar, Thor had managed to maintain a healthy schedule of excersize and no alcohol. He didn't eat much to begin with so there was no need for him to cut back where food was concerned. The mess of a beard covering his face was gone the night Thor left Earth and in the months that followed, he made sure it stayed off.

It was at the six month mark when Thor noticed with the sudden change in diet and extreme amount of exercise he did during the day, the weight he gained over the course of five years seemed to drop without him realising it.

His grown out long blonde hair had received some special treatment from Mantis, who jumped with glee when he asked her for help in untangling it. The process was slow, but surprisingly soothing as she worked through it until it resembled something close to it's former glory. The two of them chatted throughout the whole experience, and Thor found himself genuinely laughing more than once. He vaguely remembered her comparing him to some kind of dog as she groomed his hair. When she said she was done, she asked if she could try to braid it. He didn't mind. With Nebula being the only other woman on the ship, he could imagine that doing things like this was a rarity for her.

It was as he spoke to Mantis that he opened up to her without even realising it. She told him of how she worked for Ego and how serving him had been her purpose, until she found herself to be accepted by the Guardians and it was because of them that she was happier than she ever had been.

"I've never had a family before. Ego took me in when I was younger than I can remember. But now I do have a family, Drax, Nebula, the talking puppy, they have all made me feel like I belong  here. And now you're here, you are a part of this family too." She had said to him and that was the first time any of them had referred to him as family. He could do nothing but smile at her in return.

Then there was a silence as Mantis suddenly frowned. It was one of guilt, Thor knew that because he knew what guilt looked like.

"Thor, can I tell you something?" She asked.

Thor nodded slightly taken aback by the sudden change of mood, "Of course."

Her frown deepened even further while her eyes saddened. It was a long time before she responded,
"My powers allow me to feel people's emotions. The stronger the emotion is, the more my abilities are affected. When we rescued you, I felt your emotions while you were unconscious. I felt your anxiety, anger and loss, but your guilt was almost unbearable for me to be around. Then when you came to live with us, I found your grief still hadn't ebbed away. It was so overpowering that I couldn't bear to be in the same room as you. Even now, I can still feel the pain that rests in your heart, but I began to feel bad for choosing not to help you. I fear I  haven't been a good friend to you and I'm sorry."

Thor gaped in disbelief at her words as the poor girl looked like she was about to cry. Before he could stop himself he was bringing her in for the most careful hug he had ever given a person. He heard her gasp at the contact.

"You couldn't be more wrong, my friend. I'll admit there was a time at the beginning where I got the impression you didn't like me because you always avoided me. But then Nebula explained your powers to me and I began to understand. Besides, we're friends now, aren't we?" Thor moved back to look at her and saw her startled expression melt into a warm smile before she gave a gleeful nod of her head before hugging him again.

From that day he'd had a strong feeling of protectiveness over Mantis and didn't hesitate to defend her when the others made fun of or grew frustrated by her innocent nature as she was still growing used to the intricacies of social interaction.

Bringing himself back to the present, Thor huffed with irritation as the same song started up again for what had to be the hundredth time. It was a good song and he did like having the music in the background as he worked, but he had been cleaning the ship parts for the last couple of hours and if anything the constant repeating of the music was beginning to annoy him. 

The God of thunder contemplated doing something about it, but as he had heard from Drax, music helped Quill to concentrate. There was also the fact that Thor had no desire to be roped into another petty argument with the Benetar's captain like most of Thor's actions led him to.

He would like to say that he didn't mind the starlord's initial treatment of him when he first joined them six months ago, however as the months went by Quill's bitterness and unprovoked dislike of him seemed to only grow. This got to a point where Thor mostly kept his mouth shut during missions if anything just to avoid an argument.

Most of their previous squabbles consisted of harmless bickering that went on until the others no longer found it funny and stopped them or Quill got too defensive. Thor never thought anything of it at the time, he didn't think too much of the starlord at all therefore it was easy to ignore the hostilities that Quill threw at him. If anything, Thor just found riling him up too funny, but he didn't mean any harm.

But then harmless squabbling turned into arguing, not by Thor's choice. Their first real argument happened within the first month and having no desire or interest in playing the others game, Thor had simply left the room. Rocket had found him later on and told him that Quill just needed time. Since he was taken with the snap, the Starlord had only just really begun to grieve the loss of Gamora after returning and was now determined more than anything to find the other version from wherever in the galaxy she was hiding.

Thor understood. He understood probably better than most how painful it is to lose the one you love most. He would probably be the same way for his brother. Since trying to speak to the captain didn't really work out, he decided to help out by keeping out of the way as much as possible.

The fact Thor understood Quill's pain was the one reason he had tolerated his petty behaviour for this long. When Quill was angry at him for whatever he had done, Thor usually waited until the other man finished yelling before asking if he was alright to leave. He didn't fight back. He didn't have the will to. He didn't want to fight.

Thor accepted Rocket's offer to join them in the hopes that he would find himself. To be something better than he was supposed to be. He had to be better.

The sound of glass smashing succeeded in startling the God of thunder as the sound resounded from the next room, followed by an angry growl. Without thinking, Thor left the parts abandoned and all but ran into the next room.

He found Quill, the man was slumped against the wall with the broken neck of a bottle in his hand. The Starlord was panting heavily, staring down at the mess of glass on the floor.

Thor looked around the room to see several books played open, some were on the floor, others scattered across the table. The map they had been following for the last few months remained the same with the screen blearing at them almost mockingly.

Thor had seen Quill reduced to such a state before after he'd had a few, the first time he thought it best to leave him be and let the others intervene. He was contemplating whether or not to do the same thing now. If he stepped in, then he would have to face either Quill taking out his bad mood on him, or a simple brush off before asking to be left alone.

It seemed as if it was heading in the direction of the former, as before Thor even made his decision Quill caught his stare in the doorway. Almost immediately after their eyes locked, Quill's eyes narrowed at the God of thunder. Thor internally rolled his eyes, already aware of how this conversation was going to play out.

"What? You want a picture or something?" Quill grumbled before returning his stare to the floor.

Thor sighed, "Merely checking up on you. I heard the crash, I just thought I'd make sure you're okay." He finished with a shrug of his shoulders.

There was a long pause where neither said a word until Quill gestured to the broken glass splayed out all around him, "Peachy."

This time Thor did roll his eyes before turning to leave. He'd let Rocket know what was going on and then leave it be. So he did. He wandered to the front of the ship where Rocket was steering the ship. As adamant as Quill was about being the captain of the ship, these days it was always Rocket flying while Quill isolated himself into finding places on the map where they hadn't yet stopped to search for Gamora.

As much as the man got on his nerves, Thor didn't have the heart to tell Quill what he thought, or rather what the rest of the team were thinking. The daughter of Thanos didn't want to be found. At least not this one. Their Gamora was gone, in a place where one could not return from. Even if they did find the other, what would they do then? She didn't know them or have any memories of any prior connections to them. They were searching for a stranger.

But Thor never said a word to Quill. It was actually Nebula who brought it up a few weeks ago while the two of them were mending Rocket's artillery. She told him she didn't see the point of all this. Even if they found her sister, she wouldn't stay as much as she may want her to. She was living an a timeline that wasn't hers and was most likely hiding away. As long as she was happy, Nebula was happy to accept it. The second daughter of Thanos seemed to accept that her Gamora was gone, it didn't mean she grieved any less than Quill or the others.

Quill was a man in love, someone who much like Thor had lost people he loved all through his life. That was how Thor understood Quill's desperation to find her. He would do the same had their roles been reversed.

"Hey, rabbit," Thor greeted as he stood behind the raccoon's chair.

"Sup, blondie," Rocket called back without turning to look at him.

"How long before we land?" Thor asked while planning himself in the adjoining seat feeling safe in doing so as Quill wasn't here.

The raccoon shrugged, "Not sure, shouldn't be much longer, I'm pretty beat. Why?"

"Do you mind if I keep you company till then? I think your captain's on the warpath."

Rocket was quiet for a minute before he let out a frustrated yet disappointed sigh. "He drunk again?" He asked to which Thor nodded.

The raccoon grumbled, "Shit. Well we're not too far off the jump so you might wanna buckle up. The others will join us soon from wherever the hell they are and Quill will flip out if he sees you in his chair."

It was as Thor returned to his seat that Rocket spoke again, "Can I ask you something?"

Thor blinked, "Sure."

He heard yet another sigh come from the raccoon.

"Do you really think that there's any need to keep doing this? I mean I was going along with it at first because it was what Quill wanted, but I mean it's been six months with no sign of her and no one else on any planet we've searched giving any indication they've seen her. I miss her as much as they do, but hell even Nebula doesn't see the point anymore. If she gets it then why the hell doesn't Quill?"

There was a brief silence as the raccoon breathed deeply. Thor could tell he had been waiting to speak his mind for some time. Then Rocket chuckled, "Damn, that makes me sound like a real ass, huh?"

Thor rose from his chair again and came up behind Rocket and placing a hand on his small shoulder, "No. You're merely saying what you really feel. It's not a bad thing, its brave. I know how much you all love and miss her. It is  good of you to help Quill given he loved her most of all. But you mustn't forget your own grief because of that."

There was a moment where Rocket seemed to consider his words but it did nothing to relieve the frown from his face.

"Be honest with me, Thor, you've travelled the universe longer than any of us, if we keep this up then do you really think there's a chance we'll find her?"

There it was. The question he had been dreading to hear. Thor bit down on his lip like he was trying to physically stop the words escaping him.

"For your sake, I wish for nothing more than that." Thor began, "But truthfully, no I don't believe we will."

He wasn't sure what he expected, maybe anger, but the only reply he received was a look of resignation from the raccoon.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I had a feeling you would say that."

There was a feeling of guilt stirring deep within Thor's belly. He shouldn't have said anything. Who was he to damage whatever hope they had left?

"But its okay," Rocket suddenly spoke again, "I've been thinking the same thing. Whether that makes me seem like an asshole or not to the rest of the team, I think you're right."

"Or maybe it's none of your business."

Both the Asgardian and raccoon swiftly spun around to see Quill standing in the walkway with Groot, Drax and Mantis standing not that far behind. He stared them both down with empty eyes. If looks could kill, Thor wasn't sure he'd still be alive. Rocket met Quill's stare with one of disinterest before turning back to the wheel.

"Hey, Quill." He said. As Thor kept his eyes fixed on Quill, he saw that the raccoon's greeting had only pissed him off even more.

There was a long drawn out silence as Quill kept opening his mouth like he was about to say something but then closing it again shortly after.

"So you think this is completely pointless, huh?" The Starlord's voice was quiet.

There was no reply from Rocket.

Quill scoffed, "Oh that's great. So the truth comes out then, doesn't it."

Behind where Quill was standing, the other Guardians were watching with confusion and discomfort.

"So this whole time," Quill advanced on the raccoon and Thor quickly stood to move out of the way and sat in the seat behind Rocket staring wearily at Quill as he glowered at Rocket, "This whole time we've been looking for her you thought to mention now that you already gave up on her?"

Thor acted without thinking on the instinct to defend his friend, "Hold on a minute, Quill-" he was cut off as said man whirled to pierce him with his glare.

"I wasn't speaking to you." He growled in the God of thunder's face causing Thor to flinch. This wasn't Quill's normal look of irritation whenever Thor would find himself at odds with the other man. Thor could practically feel the anger radiating from the Starlord.

"Quill," Drax's voice entered the conversation as he stepped in front of the others. His voice was low and tense, a warning of sorts. While Thor was grateful for the support, he still held his hand up to signal to Drax that it was alright.

"That wasn't what he was saying, Quill. All we were saying is that we have been searching for her for a long time and we haven't been able to find any reliable leads." Thor was sure to keep his tone calm.

Quill looked at him in pure disbelief letting out a bark of harsh laughter, "Oh don't bullshit me! I heard everything you two said. I bet you're all in on it! You all laughing at me making me look like an idiot for wanting to find the woman I love!"

Thor saw Rocket's ears pin backwards at the harshness of the statement. He felt anger spark in his chest at the way all of them visibly recoiled with a look of upset or shame clouding their expressions.

"Hang on, now that isn't fair-" he was cut off once again doing nothing to simmer the anger he was desperate to keep under control.

"Fair?! No, what isn't fair was when that purple motherfucker took my girl and murdered her for a fucking stone! What isn't fair is that when everyone got the people they loved back with the snap, I didn't! What isn't fair is that now we have a chance to find another living breathing version of her, I'm the only one who still cares enough about her to keep looking for her!"

Nebula, who had been lurking in the corner for the last few minutes, unfolded her arms from over her chest and stepped forward like she was about to say something causing the rest of them to fall silent. Her eyes were full of fire but there was no scowl or sneer on her face. Quill locked his eyes on her and stared like he was waiting for her reaction. Several tense seconds of silence passed before Nebula turned her eyes down and stormed out of the room. Thor watched her leave and contemplated following her, already wanting to be done with the ordeal and wanting to see if she was alright.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Rocket muttered from his chair.

Quill huffed, "Oh, please, she just needs to cool off, that's all." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. Thor truly hoped more than anything that this was down to the copious amount of alcohol in Quill's system, but he didn't care to hear any more of what Quill had to say.

"Shut it. You've caused enough damage." Thor was mildly surprised by the sound of his own voice growling in return.

There was a gasp from the back of the room, most likely from Mantis and the rest of them fell silent. Quill's glare returned with a vengeance as he turned back to Thor.

However, this time before he could speak it was Thor who cut in.

"You speak as if you are the only person in the universe who lost someone you loved. Before Thanos even found the stones, I had lost everything I loved. When the Avengers brought everyone back, including yourself, I knew I would get none of that back. But you have one thing I never had when the dust settled, Quill," Thor spread his arms out gesturing to the others in the room. "You have a family."

Every eye in the room turned to him giving him looks of either astonishment or agreement he didn't know. But he couldn't stop himself.

"You love Gamora." Thor stated as he continued. "I understand that. But then you turn to the people who have supported you and continued all of this for you and tell them that they don't care about her. Because you loved her doesn't make their grief any less important than yours. I admire your determination to keep searching for her, Norns know I'd do the same in your situation, but do you really think you are the only one who misses her?"

Silence ensued as he stopped to breathe and took in the sight of Quill's glare, who's anger hadn't depleted in the slightest. Thors eyes travelled around the room and he immediately felt suffocated by the number of eyes on him. Thor began to feel as if he'd said too much, he'd imposed on a situation that had nothing to do with him. Who was he to tell someone how to grieve?

"I don't recall asking for your input, whatever your name is. This here," Quill pointed to everyone else in the room, his words slurred, "is a family matter. We lost her and we're trying to find her because she was one of us. You think you're in charge because you can shoot sparkles from your fingertips? You think because you sit in her chair that you can replace her?"

It took all of Thor's willpower to suppress the compelling urge to roll his eyes. Out of respect for the team, he succeeded and simply closed his eyes before taking in a deep breath. His nerves weren't calming to his call. Thor rose from his seat and made to leave like he always did when Quill tried to pick a fight with him. But it appeared Quill wasn't done yet.

"I never even wanted you here. Why the hell are you here, anyway? Get the hell out of her chair!" Quill grabbed hold of Thor's arm and tried forcefully pulling him away. Thor, being the stronger of the two, roughly shoved Quill back forcing him to loosen his grip. Thor fumed with silent anger.

"Do not push me, Quail." Thor's voice was quieter in expressing his rage. Quill stepped closer until they were almost in eachothers faces.

"It's Quill." The other man hissed.

As Thor looked around out of the corner of his eye he saw that Drax and Groot had both moved closer to them with tense gazes in both their eyes. As he glanced to his left, he saw that Rocket had left his seat and was standing a few feet away.

"Alright, that's enough, I don't want to have to be cleaning blood and teeth and all that shit off the floor. You wanna fight, do it outside." The raccoon drawled with a shrug of his shoulders.

Thor tried to pass the other man once again and failed to suppress a growl when the other man stood in his way once again. A half smirk crawled onto Quill's face while his eyes remained cold.

"You know, if it weren't for you none of this would have happened."

Thor's heart missed a beat when the cruel words wove themselves around his chest, squeezing tightly. He searched his mind for something to say but found there were no words.

"Quill," the warning chastisement came from Drax once again, while Rocket repeated it simultaneously in a voice of disbelief.

"If you'd have killed that purple fucker when you had the chance, then we could've taken that stone, we could've brought her back. She'd be here right now. So why? Why are you here and she isn't?"

Thor could sense the deep layer of grief hidden in each lash of venom that struck his heart. The familiar shadow instantly cast over the God's addled mind as Quill repeated the same question that he had been asking himself for several years.

Why was he here? Why was he still alive when so many had died and he was to blame for it? The dark thoughts and loneliness were Thor's only company in the time he lived on new Asgard. He had hoped by travelling the cosmos with the Guardians and finally escaping the void he had thrown himself into that those dark thoughts would vanish. While they still remained, they weren't as powerful as they once were. Even after the snap was reversed he was haunted by the demons that kept him awake at night and plagued his fragile mind. For some reason the fact that Quill threw the reminder of what he had been trying to forget for so long back in his face hurt  more than he thought.

"Quill, stop!" Rocket exclaimed. Thors brow dipped at the rising panic in his voice and when he glanced down he saw the cause. Lightning was wreathed around his knuckles and travelling in ripples up and down his arms.

Quill didn't seem fazed in the slightest by his depleting control over his powers. He thumped his hands against Thor's chest making him stumble and snapping Thor out of his trance. The resounding laughter that slipped past the God's lips was cold.

"You really are pathetic. I've lived for fifteen hundred years and I've never met such a bitter, twisted little man. From where I'm standing, you don't deserve this team and wherever Gamora is, she's better off without you."

There was a moment where it seemed that he had successfully managed to stun the Starlord into silence and he took that moment to once again try to walk away.

Then there was a hand pulling him backwards by his hair and causing him to lose his footing. Quill threw Thor to the ground so he landed on his back. Thor looked up at Quill who was standing over him and matched his fuming expression with their eyes ablaze with rage.

"You idiot! now you've gone and done it!" Rocket barked.

The words passed over Thor's head like they'd never been spoken. His breaths became heavier, his hands were fisted so tightly he could feel his nails cutting into his skin. Quill was looking down on him with smugness beginning to blossom on his drunken face. Rage flooded Thor's veins in a way he hadn't felt for a long time. A rage almost impossible to control. And he tried. His tried to slow his breathing, to calm himself before he hurt someone. But as Quill's smirk of malice only grew, it fed the fires of his anger.

Thor snapped. Before he knew it, the action happening faster than a lightning strike, Thor snatched Quill by the neck, holding his head up as he cracked his fist across his face. He let go of his neck and let Quill fall to the floor. Thor waited. Slowly, with a pained groan, Quill sat up holding his now heavily bleeding nose. He made a half assed attempt to stop it by merely wiping the lines of blood from where it had run down past his mouth on his sleeve.

After wiping under his nose a couple more times, the dazed captain glanced upwards. Their eyes locked.

Thor blocked Quill's attempt to tackle him, holding him back by the shoulders and roughly shoving him into the wall. Clenching the bruising knuckles of his left hand, Thor felt the rage disappearing within him after the first punch. He just wanted to walk away. It would be better if he left. Especially after that. He didn't want to fight.

It appeared he had no choice in the matter as Quill bolted at him once again with a rage filled cry, Thor braced himself. Then before Quill could land a hit anywhere, Drax jumped in front of the two of them and held his arms out between the two of them stopping either of them from reaching eachother. Thor saw Quill struggle against Drax until his attention was caught by a whistle from back of the room. Rocket beckoned him over and after looking between both parties for all of two seconds, Thor took the opportunity to leave and he was quick to follow the raccoon out while trying to simultaneously drown out Quill calling after him.

Drax kept his eye on the God's back until the moment he'd left the room. Once Rocket gave him a thumbs up he finally let go of Quill, the sudden action nearly making him fall again.

Starlord stumbled before Drax caught him and held him upright. Quill's eyes danced all over the place for a moment before he held his head with a groan and screwed his eyes shut like he had just woken up staring at the sun. The punch that Thor had dealt to Quill's face appeared to have knocked the anger out of him, with the pain in his nose combined with the ache of an upcoming hangover, he would be better off in his room.

Without saying another word and holding no clear expression of emotion on his face, Drax shouldered him and led him away.

Once being led to the back of the ship, Rocket quickly shut off the entrance so no one could get in or hear what they were saying. Thor reeled as he paced around the floorspace fromnwhat exactly had just happened. He punched him. While at the time he may have deserved it, the more his brain continued to process that fact, the more Thor began to regret it.

"Will you quit pacing, you're gonna give me a headache." There was tension lacing Rocket's usually passive tone and then it occured to Thor that he was pretty shaken too. None of them could've expected this. He stopped pacing but he still kept his back turned to the raccoon.

"Listen, Blondie, Quill's fine. He's taken worse than a punch in the face from an Asgardian." Thor could just imagine Rocket was shrugging behind him.

Thor bit his lip looking down at his feet. "If you want me to leave, then I understand."

Rocket pinned his ears back, his nose twitched in confusion, before he frowned jumping up in the table besides Thor.

"Now listen, alright, no one's going anywhere, okay? Quill will get over it, if anything he was kind of asking for it. Look this is far from the first time any of us have fought here, Quill will be fine. So forget about leaving. You're one of us now, you hear?"

Thor didn't reply as he waited for Rocket to leave. After a few moments he heard the door open and close again and turned to see he was alone. Pressing his back against the wall, Thor slumped down to the floor with his knees up against his chest and rested his head in his hands.

After finding out where Quill was lurking, Rocket threw open the captain's bedroom door so hard that it hit the wall. The groan that resounded from the bed in the middle of the room was deep and heavy with sleep. Rocket's eyes narrowed at the bump in the bed where he had no doubt there was a starlord hiding under the sheets.

"We need to talk!" Rocket barked resulting in another groan before Quill's head emerged from under the covers.

"Please don't shout." Quill cringed while covering his eyes. Pain shot up to his head from the bridge of his nose. Why did it feel like his nose was broken?

"Get up." Rocket snapped in response.

Quill grumbled and turned over in his bed in the hopes that the raccoon would leave him alone to sleep away the incoming migraine. That didn't appear to be the case as the warmth from the sheets was suddenly torn away from him and he turned in annoyed confusion to see the trash panda at the end of the bed.

Quill sighed half with frustration and half with resignation. "Look man, I know what you're gonna say and I know I was way outta line by saying you don't care about Gamora. I know you all do, it just surprised me to hear you say that you thought looking for her was pointless."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't care about that. It's hardly the first time you've taken your shitty mood out on us. I'm talking about Thor."

Quill knew it was childish, but he couldn't hold the grumble that slipped out before he covered his head with his pillow. He had a splitting headache, he had no interest in talking about the guy who caused it. Their Asgardian stowaway had been nothing but a pain in his ass since the day they met. Whatever jealousy he felt at Thor's physique vanished once he saw him again during the battle of the stones. However as months went by, it only returned with a vengeance as Thor began clearing his act up and dropped the beard and belly all while Quill stayed the same. In fact if anything, he himself had gained weight. He hadn't had much of a reason to stay active as of late.

"You've been nothing but a douchebag to him since he joined us and the guy is nothing but nice to you." Rocket snapped. His voice was closer to Quill's ear but he couldn't see for the pillow over his head.

It was as Rocket spoke that the memories of their fight before Drax brought him here came flooding back and he laughed with contempt. "Sure, tell that to my broken nose!"

Rocket sighed loudly, "Oh don't be such a baby. It ain't broken. If he wanted to hurt you that badly he would've given you way more than a punch in the face. I've seen him kill a guy with a punch before, if it was broken you'd know."

Rocket's voice quietened, "Besides, you were kind of asking for it. Serves you right for being a jerk."

Quill grumbled again, "Yeah, well you're always a jerk, no one's ever hit you for it." He finally pulled the pillow away to look at his furry teammate.

"Well they wouldn't, not unless they were tired of living." Rocket replied and after a moment he saw the corners of Quill's mouth turn up slightly. Rocket gave a small smile of his own that was quickly chased away by a frown.

"Listen, I don't know if you meant any of what you said back there. But I asked Thor to come with us so he could start fresh. Think about it, Quill, you don't get in the state he did with sweet dreams and happy thoughts, it didn't feel right leavin him there. He's done nothing but blame himself since it happened and now as his friends it's our job to help him move on. Everyone on the ship likes him, hell Groot idolises him, he ain't going anywhere unless he wants to."

For the sake of avoiding the raccoon's anger, Quill made an attempt to listen to what he had to say. As he went on, Quill found himself more and more frustrated at how right Rocket was. And man did he hate it when Rocket was right.

"This is a whole new experience for him and while I'm sure he's getting used to it, it would probably help if you didn't go around trying to start fights with him every chance you get. Trust me when I say, you don't want to fight that guy."

Quill winced as another spike of pain throbbed through his nose. Whatever little pride he'd felt at pulling him to the ground before had vanished and was replaced with an annoying amount of guilt when the memory was joined by the cruel words he had said to Thor leading up to their fight.

"Thor has been nothing but friendly to you despite everything. Though I don't know why that surprises me, the guy could probably make friends with Satan if he wanted to." Rocket began to ramble under his breath. Then his eyes snapped back up to Quill, "He's thinkin of leaving to spare you anymore trouble. I think you should go and see him."

Quill's brow furrowed, "Why?"

Rocket rolled his eyes and growled,   "To apologise, dumbass!"

The withering gaze on Quill's face didn't fade at the reply. Why would he apologise? He never apologised for anything. He was the one who got punched in the face!

Rocket must've sense what he was thinking because he received an unimpressed look from the raccoon in return.

"Just go and talk to the guy, asshole." Rocket hopped off the bed and scurried out of the room leaving Quill alone.

Quill flopped back onto the bed grumbling and muttering into his hands. It wasn't a big deal, he just had to go find the guy and apologise and then forget it ever happened. Forcing himself to sit up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. The bridge of his nose was bruised a deep purple and there was dried blood marking his top lip and his eyes looked like they were sinking into his face from the hangover and exhaustion, but other than that he looked great. Drax would no doubt die laughing once he saw what he looked like. He flashed himself a thumbs up in the mirror before attempting to stand up.

Quill immediately stumbled as soon as he stood and grabbed hold of the bed frame to stop himself from falling. He hung his head low, chuckling as he thought of what Gamora would say to him if she saw him now. Whatever she had to say he knew she would be right. She was always right. He knew he had failed her, first being unable to keep his promise to her that he swore on his mother he would keep. Then afterwards being unable to save her from the very thing she made him swear not to let happen. Then to Titan where he singlehandedly destroyed their one chance to Avenge what they had lost because he couldn't keep his emotions in check for another two seconds.

Maybe Thor blamed himself, but he wasn't the only one.

Quill winced as his head pounded and he had to sit down again. He would talk to him later, when his head hurt less and he could think clearer. The last thing he needed right now was to embarrass himself any more than he already had in front of the Asgardian God and he really didn't need another punch in the face.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed as he sat on the edge of his bed staring down at the floor lost in his own thoughts and misery. But after a long process of gathering himself and thinking over how to handle what he was about to do, Quill jumped up once again and left his room, walking with a newfound determination. He passed the others on his way and offered them nothing but a smile, which hopefully showed how sorry he was for what he said before. He received a few smiles and nods in response with a particularly encouraging one from Rocket having clearly figured out what he was doing.

It was as he reached the end of the short journey to the back of the ship that he located Thor's room. Being the ever so polite guy he was, Quill knocked on the door and then cringed as the normally quiet sound came off like a gunshot to Quill's hungover brain. He waited. Then covered his ears before knocking again. Then he waited some more. Just as he was about to give up and walk away he heard a voice.

"Who is it? Rabbit, is that you?"

Quill breathed an internal sigh of relief, "No, it's me."

A long period of silence ensued after and Quill began to think that Thor was ignoring him. But after a few moments, the door opened. Thor appeared in the doorway though his body blocked most of the view inside. Thor stared at him blankly waiting for Quill to say something and it was at that moment where his brain bailed on him, leaving him with no words on what to say.

Eventually he managed to pull a sentence together, "Hey, uh, can I come in?"

He watched as Thor's brow quirked in response as if he hadn't been expecting the question until the God gave a nod with a mumbled, "Sure." In response as he opened the door wider and stepped out of the way so Quill could enter.

Quill took in his surroundings as he entered the Asgardian's room. It wasn't exactly big but it seemed Thor had managed to keep the place clean. He was surprised to see the only things in the room were the single bed, that giant axe leaning against the foot of the bed, with a single chest of drawers squeezed into the short space between the bed and the wall. It looked deserted, like no one had even moved in here. It didn't look like the place a warrior like Thor had been living in for the last six months. Was the axe the only thing he brought with him?

"Please, sit." Thor gestured to the bed as he closed the door behind him. Quill looked back and forth between Thor and the bed before perching himself on the end of it. While he wouldn't admit it out loud, Quill was grateful for not having to stand up throughout this whole thing, given he was still rather dizzy and his face still hurt like a bitch.

Thor didn't sit with him, he instead chose to lean with his back against the closed door. He cleared his throat before speaking, "So, what did you wish to see me for?"

Quill blinked up at the God of thunder before remembering why he had come here in the first place.

"Oh, right, um, about before," Quill found himself trailing off as he tried to figure out how to continue. Thor seemed to sense his difficulty articulating but instead chose to wait patiently for him to speak. Quill sighed, "Look, I think I may have said some things, some bad things and, I don't know, I don't really remember what I said but apparently it was enough to get punched in the face. So I guess what I'm trying to say here is.. sorry." The way the sentence came out made it seem like a question causing him to internally facepalm.

Thor remained silent, the unreadable expression still etched onto his face as his eyes bore into Quill making him feel sufficiently awkward. It lasted so long that when Thor actually did speak it caused Quill to startle. "Fine."

Then he turned and opened the door again and stood on the other side. Quill could see he was expecting him to leave, he balked at the Asgardian, "Fine?"

Thor gave a curt nod, "Yes, fine, you clearly don't want to be here anymore than I want to keep you in here, so let's just forget about it."

Quill's eyes could've shot out of his head at the disbelief he felt. There was no winning with this guy!

"Do you know how much persuading it took me to even come here and say I'm sorry?" His voice raised not doing his head any favours.

Thor scoffed, "Am I supposed to feel honoured? You don't even remember what you're apologising for, Quill."

Quill's lips pressed together as he bit down his frustration. He rose from the bed and stormed past Thor, "Whatever man, I'm the one who got punched and I'm the one trying to bury the hatchet. Just go back to moping or lurking around or whatever you're doing when you're not getting on my nerves." He turned away from Thor stomping away in the other direction.

"You don't have to be a prick!" The exclamation from behind made Quill freeze. He slowly turned around to face the God still standing outside of his room, "What?"

"Your friends already get the brunt end of your anger, they're used to it. I'm just trying to move on the best I can here, so it would be wonderful if you didn't try and make my life as miserable as you apparently make everyone else's!"

Quill was simultaneously in shock both at what Thor said and the fact it was probably the most he had heard him say since he arrived here. He took a deep breath to keep his cool.

"What if I told you to get lost? What if I said I never wanted you here?" Quill challenged.

Thor smirked, "You already did. And I don't think it matters as I wasn't asked here by you, I was asked here by Rocket, the captain. So unless he tells me he does not want me around anymore, I'm staying. Not because I care for your opinion, much less enjoy your company, but because I have nowhere else to go. After we emerged victorious in the battle of the stones, I couldn't go back to my life of wallowing in my own misery waiting for the day where for once I wouldn't up and drink myself back to sleep while wishing for it all to be over. I couldn't stay there any longer."

Something about the way Thor's expression changed made Quill think he hadn't meant to say that out loud. He stated at the God of thunder in complete shock while rendered completely unable to speak. What could he say to that?

He must've been staring longer than he thought as Thor began retreating back into his room. He was trying to hide himself. Quill knew how that felt. Actually he found himself understanding Thor's situation completely, from the booze to the self blame to the self hatred. Quill's annoyance grew at himself as the feeling of guilt stirred in his belly. The guilt seemed to control his body as before he knew it, he was running after him. He stopped the closing door by quickly wedging his body into the gap. Thor let go of the door in surprise at the sudden intrusion.

Quill paused a moment to catch his breath and stepped into the room properly, "Hey, I am sorry."

Thor looked at him questionably for a moment trying to decipher the sincerity of the apology.

"Rocket told me you've been blaming yourself for everything that happened," Subtle, Quill, real subtle, "and I know what I said wasn't cool. What happened wasn't your fault, I was just drunk and angry and I was missing Gamora, and I took it out on you, so I'm sorry."

Quill waited and he could've whooped with relief when all tension appeared to leave Thor's body. His eyes brightened slightly leaving him looking more full of life than Quill had ever seen him. Now that he thought about it, Thor's eyes had always been dull and tired in the time he had known him, not that Quill could blame him, the guy had suffered a pretty big loss.

Thor flopped down on the bed looking down at his feet as he seemed to be contemplating what to say next. Eventually he glanced back up to Quill, who had been waiting patiently the whole time.

Then Thor smiled, "If you truly mean what you say, then I forgive you."

Whether it was to shut him up or whether he genuinely meant it, Quill wasn't sure, but he was going to take it and run with it.

"And to truly put this behind us, I think it would benefit the team as well as ourselves if we at least tried to be better friends." Thor continued. Quill couldn't contain his astonishment at such a simple request.

Though it was at that moment when his forgotten hangover demanded it made itself known again as the dull ache throbbed painfully giving him the sudden need to sit down.

Thor seemed to notice that too, For the next minute he was asking if he was alright. Quill brushed him off as he approached, "Don't worry about it, it's all good." He didn't mean to mumble. Then he felt a hand on his arm carefully guiding him to the bed so he could sit.

"You Midgardians really can't handle your liquor, can you?" Quill felt his annoyance rise at the amusement laced in Thor's voice. He didn't have the energy to make a snark in response and instead lamely shrugged his shoulders. Thor chuckled again before patting Quill on the knee,  "Hang on a moment, I have something that might help." Then he was gone.

It was less than a minute before Thor returned with some kind of flask in his hand. He held it out to Quill as he sat down next to him. Quill stared at it questionably as he held it in his hands.

"What is it?"

Thor looked at him, "Well, that is the lining you should've had underneath that skinful."

Quill twisted the top off the flask and tried to see the contents of it. When he failed to do that he raised it to his nose to smell it. Almost instantly his nose wrinkled at the powerful smell and held it at arms reach away from him.

"Dude, what the hell is that?" He asked mildly alarmed.

"A remedy from Asgard me and Val used all the time when I lived on Earth. It works. Trust me, by this point I could write the hangover guidebook."

Quill continued to stare between Thor and the flask in disapproval before slowly raising the mouth of the bottle to his lips and taking a sip. The moment the liquid touched his tongue, Quill tried to fight the urge to gag and almost dropped the flask.

He cast a glare in Thor's direction as the God actually had the nerve to laugh at him. Unsure of how much he was actually supposed to drink, Quill took another disgustingly long sip before screwing the cap back on the flask and passing it back to Thor while coughing around the burn of the strong liquid.

Thor placed it down on the chest of drawers. The two of them sat side by side in a silence that quickly grew awkward. He glanced at Quill out of the corner of his eye as the Starlord cleared his throat.

"Um, Thanks." he mumbled. Thor smiled brightly at the gratitude and gave Quill a firm pat on the shoulder. "No problem."

Thor accepted the silence after a while and waited to see if Quill would take his leave. It was amusing to see him wondering what to do next. Then he finally decided to put Quill out of his misery. "You are more than welcome to stay until you feel better. It'll be a few minutes for the medicine to take effect."

He saw Quill nod his head and then accepted when Thor offered to get him some water. When he returned again and passed Quill his drink, he saw the captain looked less hungover yet somehow he looked even more down than he did before.

"Why are you even bothering with me? I've treated you like shit since I met you, if anything I'd have thought you'd be the last person to try and help me." The confrontation wasn't angry, there was no malice left in Quill's voice, only exhaustion and resigned sadness.

Thor hummed in thought, "I've no idea, to be honest." He chuckled and even saw Quill smile slightly, "I suppose it's partly because I've been where you are now probably a hundred thousand times and truthfully, I wouldn't wish that amount of grief on anyone. We all lost something to Thanos, it's our job to help eachother move on."

Quill took a moment to look at him seriously, "And have you? Moved on, I mean."

Thor immediately shook his head, "No. I  still have a long way to go before that. But as strange as this may sound, it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not alone." His eyes met Quill's stare. There was a look in his eyes that Thor couldn't decipher.

"Does it ever get easier? To accept when someone's gone? I lost my mother when I was eight because of my father and I still don't feel like I'm over it. Yondu, he wasn't my real father but he was my dad. He looked after me from the moment I left Earth and that whole time I never realised he actually cared about me until he died to save me. Now Gamora's gone too. I know the other one is still out there somewhere, but she's not my Gamora. I know I wanted to find her, but she doesn't even know me now. I don't know which would be worse, to accept she is gone or to spend the rest of my life looking for a shell of the woman I loved."

Why was he telling him this? Why was he opening up to this guy who he barely knew? As much as he may have thought he hated him, there was something that he noticed about Thor as he sat here talking to him that made him think he could trust him. He was so tired of holding everything in. He traced every inch of the Asgardian's face looking for one small sign of judgement. Thor's mismatched eyes were only earnest and held nothing but gentleness. He hated it. It only made him feel even more guilty. Why was Thor even listening to him? Why wasn't he telling him to get lost? His problems weren't Thor's to worry about and Quill had certainly given him no indication that he was worth his time.

Thor's eyes widened briefly when Quill turned his gaze away and looked down to the floor. He heard his breath hitch that was then followed by a quiet sniffling sound. Placing his hand on Quill's back, Thor rubbed his back soothingly in the hope of offering some form of comfort. Physical contact always helped him during his worst moments but he knew that wasn't the case for everybody. But Quill didn't seem to be pushing him away. He actually appeared to be relaxing into the touch.

"Its always good to have hope in the darkest of times. As for what you should do, I'm afraid I can't be the one to make that decision for you. But I can be here to help and support you when you decide." His hand travelled upwards to squeeze Quill's shoulder

Quill's eyes snapped back up to his own in an instant. Thor was almost taken aback by the number of emotions held within them. Each one passed one after the other, not staying for more than a few seconds, ranging from astonishment to sadness, to shame.

They were shining with something else too that Thor once again couldn't figure out. His gaze fell down to his hand supporting his weight on the bed as another warm one covered his own. His brow furrowed in confusion at the sudden contact before realisation about what that something was struck him. His eyes travelled from their hands up the length of Quill's arm, wandering back up to meet the other man's.

Quill was looking at him with such intensity that he found his heart rate picking up with anxiety. The moment Quill leaned in, Thor recoiled in shock and held him back by placing his hands on his chest. The other seemed to understand the rejection immediately, but he wasn't angered. He looked completely ashamed.

Thor shook his head, "What are you doing?" He wasn't upset. He just didn't understand.

Quill sighed, now looking less shameful and more along the lines of extremely sheepish. There was embarrassment in the way he laughed.

"Sorry. Shit, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't mean to do that. I'm so sorry, man," Quill wouldn't even look at him.

Thor couldn't find the right words to say that were buried in the back of his mind that were completely blocked out from the shock of what just happened.

Quill's mind was going a mile a minute, he felt the flush of embarrassment heat up his cheeks to a point where he knew he probably looked like a tomato in the eyes of the Asgardian. Did he seriously just make a pass at the guy when he was trying to help?

"Your head is all over the place, you weren't thinking clearly, not to mention still sobering up." Thor reasoned. Quill couldn't believe his ears. He was too overcome with humiliation and guilt combined with his established grief. He shot up from the bed purposely avoiding the God of thunder's eyes.

"I, um," Quill shuffled awkwardly and pointed to the door, "I should go."

He made it two hurried steps forward before Thor's voice stopped him again. "You don't have to leave, Quill. If it makes it any easier for you, we can consider the matter already forgotten."

Quill spun on his heel to face him with a pained look in his eye. What the hell was wrong with this guy? "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Thor's reply was instant, "Because you are sad. I can sense it in your soul. Your grief radiates from it like an aura." Thor paused, "As does my own."

Quill's frown deepened as Thor's smile grew wider, "You don't have to stand alone in your grief, Quill. Through the last five years I tried to forget, to block out the memories of everything I loved being taken from me, to shut off everything that hurt. I was alone. But you are not. The Guardians are your family. They will always be there to help you. All you have to do is let them. And if you'd like, then you could talk to me too."

Quill's frown softened though he looked like he still had so many questions he wanted to ask. He didn't want the guy to feel like he was being interrogated, so instead of standing over him he came to sit beside him once again. After failing several times to articulate a full sentence, Quill asked him, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Thor seemed to think it over before nodding once.

Quill continued, "I know you said you couldn't stay on Earth, and hey I totally get it, man. Personally I'd rather spend the rest of my life as a slave fo the Collector than go back to Earth again. But flying around in space with a bunch of morons like us, what could you possibly hope to achieve here?"

The question itself had Thor laughing out loud.

"Its an interesting question, I must say. However the answer is rather complicated, to say the least." He said. Quill knew the Asgardian was trying to dismiss the question. He smirked, "Come on, it's not like we don't have the time. Tell me." Thor still remained hesitant to answer. But he eventually relented under Quill's stare.

"When I was a child, my one ambition in life was to become just like my father. He was brave, strong, immensely powerful, and he was wise above all else. From a very young age I was thrown into the sparring ring expected to learn to fight unlike no other warrior of Asgard. As I grew up, people would always tell me that I was just like my father. At the time I thought nothing of it, if I was being compared to the Allfather then it could only be a good thing. But I was young, rash, reckless."

Thor paused to glance to his left where thankfully Quill was listening intently.

"It wasn't until I found out about my sister that I learned who Odin really was. Before I was born, probably even before he knew my mother, Odin was ruthless and brutal. He took the nine realms through force, violence and death with my sister by his side, wielding the hammer that only answered to those she deemed worthy. Mjolnir deemed the Goddess of death as worthy of her power. Then she was passed on to me. Then I thought, if Hela was worthy then what is defined as worthy? Did that mean my thoughts and ideals were similar to that of my sister?

After she died in the destruction of Asgard I realised my father wasn't as great of a man as I believed in my youth. Looking back on the years before I was banished to Earth, I wonder how could such a cruel and reckless boy be worthy? If I hadn't been sent to Earth and met Jane, I would have continued following in my father's footsteps, I would've become him. I would've been just as brutal, just as dangerous, just as cruel. He may not have meant it so but it would've happened."

Thor stopped to take a breath and saw Quill looked either confused or deep in thought.

Thor sighed, "My point is, since the moment I was born, Odin has had my entire life planned out for me and that is the life I would've lived if I hadn't been sent to Earth. I would've grown rasher, even more arrogant, I would take the throne, submit myself to a joyless marriage solely for the purpose of producing heirs. My wife would despise me, my brother would resent me, my friends would distance themselves from me, any daughters I may have had would've been deemed insignificant by the people if I were to also have had a son, who I would've brought up to become just like myself and continue the cycle for many generations afterwards.

After rejecting the throne many times to my father, I'd hoped to break that wheel. My father may have changed for the better, no doubt thanks to my mother, but the universe doesn't need another Odin. But since Ragnarok, I've lived in fear of being just that. I have no idea how to be anything else, I was never given the chance to be who I was, only what I was supposed to be."

Quill had never imagined this level of openness from the Asgardian today when he'd only intended to apologise about before. He was almost overwhelmed at the level of trust Thor was placing in him by telling him all of this. Thor didn't want anything from them. He just wanted freedom to find out who he was. Quill could sympathise.

Shuffling closer to the God of thunder, Thor looked at him with curiosity. Quill smirked, "Can I be honest with you, buddy?"

Thor nodded, "Your dad sounds like a dick." Quill said.

The two of them held eachothers stare before they were snickering. Then snickering turned into fits of giggles. They couldn't stop once they'd started, they laughed until their sides hurt, holding onto eachothers shoulder for support.

Once their laughter finally subsided Quill couldn't stop smiling. The two of them flopped backwards onto the bed staring at the ceiling. They were quiet for a while in what was for the first time a comfortable silence.

Then Quill got an idea. A brilliant idea. A truly one hundred percent freakin awesome idea!

Thor caught sight of his dumb grin because his post laughter smile turned into a look of suspicion, "What is it?"

But Quill wasn't deterred, he sat up exclaiming, "I'm a freaking genius, that's what!" Thor humoured him with a laugh though he looked slightly concerned.

"The best way to find out who you are, is to reinvent the person you're trying to run away from!" Quill was aware he was probably shouting but he couldn't care less.

Thor's brow furrowed, "I'm not sure I follow."

Quill sighed but his smile didn't waver, "You want to find out who you are, why not make some changes to the way you look. They say on Earth that the best way to get over the end of the world is by reinventing yourself."

Thor opened his mouth, closed it, his brow furrowed deeper, "Didn't they say that's how to get over a breakup?"

Quill looked unimpressed, even though Thor was right, "Whatever, what I'm saying is you're not on Asgard anymore, and if your planning to stay in space with us then you may want a different look. Get you a suit, maybe change your hair, whatever you want."

Thor seemed to think this over for a while and he found the more he thought about it, he didnt actually hate the idea. It would help if he wasn't instantly recognisable every single time they landed on another planet.

Looking back to Quill, who had been waiting the whole time for him to say something. Thor smirked, "Do you want to help me?

Quill pumped his fist in the air, "I was hoping you were gonna say that! Alright, you decide what you want, I've got the music sorted."

It had taken another hour for Rocket to land the ship and then after several hours in the back of the Benetar, Quill was stood outside Thor's bedroom door. His arms were crossed over his chest and his foot tapped impatiently against the floor.

Quill grumbled, "Hey, you done in there yet?"

"Just a second!" Thor called back.

"Hurry up, man, they're gonna be back soon!"

"Alright! Alright, I'm done! Hang on." Quill turned as the door opened and took a step back as Thor came out.

There were no words to describe how proud of himself Quill felt the moment he looked the Asgardian up and down.

Quill admitted to himself begrudgingly, Thor really did look awesome. The once golden locks had been dyed a dark brown making his mismatched eyes stand out even more. His plain sweaters had been replaced by black leathers with the sleeve barely making it past his shoulders causing his arms to look even bigger. In the middle of the tight leather was a golden chest piece that stood out beyond the patterns weaved into the vest. His now brown hair had been braided, by Quill himself before Thor sent him out.

It had also been at Quill's insistence that Thor kept the prosthetic eye the colour it was. He said it brought another sense of uniqueness about him. But thankfully he didn't look too different.

"Well?" The question snapped Quill out of his trance suddenly aware he had probably been staring. Quill huffed a laugh while shaking his head, "You certainly look like one of us now, pal."

Instead of the sarcastic response he'd been expecting, Thor was beaming.

"Thank you, Peter."

Then as they heard the voices of the rest of the team as they were boarding again with the supplies for their next destination, Thor made his way past Quill to go and greet them and in the process missed the look of surprise on Quill's face. No one called him Peter. No one except...

He was brought back to the present by another presence clearing his throat and looked around before spotting Rocket standing across the room.

"Well I take it he accepted your apology." The raccoon said smartly.

Quill snickered, "Uh, yeah, I think so. I apologised, then we argued, then we talked, then we argued some more, then we talked some more, then one thing led to another."

"Yeah, I just saw him. He looks good. Thought it might've been your idea. So I'm taking it that because you two are giving eachother makeovers that all this fighting crap is done with?" Rocket asked hopefully.

"Well I can't promise anything but you know, one thing at a time." The two of them began walking back together as they talked. Groot was playing on his video game, Mantis was smiling sitting next to Drax, as he was roaring with laughter at something Thor probably just told him. Even Nebula seemed interested in whatever conversation they were having. As the Starlord and the raccoon entered, all eyes turned to them. Once Thor caught sight of Quill he flashed them both a smile and a wave. Rolling his eyes around his own smile Quilm gave a short wave back.

"Oh crap," Rocket said under his breath. Quill's eyes wandered down, "What?"

I think I just realised this might he the start of a really annoying friendship." Rocket grumbled.