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Sometimes, when life blows up in his face as usual, Tony thinks that this old communicator is the only thing that keeps him sane.
The device is really old – no one in the Universe uses this model nowadays but it makes it even better when Tony is holding this piece of crap in his hands while trying to make a call. There will be a loud buzz, a strange sound that old computers make when overheated, then the screen will turn black before showing the only face that still makes Tony smile.
“Hey!” Peter shouts with his beautiful sunny smile reflecting in his blue eyes. “Long time no call.”
His fringe is longer that it was last time and the way Quill tries to pull it from his eyes makes Tony chuckle.
“Hey yourself,” Tony tries but despite his best efforts his voice sounds tired and a little bit sad, but it’s enough for Peter to notice.
“Troubles in paradise?” he tries and hits the raw spot. Tony wants to say that he’s tired, that he’s sick of all this crap, he’s tired of dying because of him, of people hating him, that he’s probably fucked up again, that he wants to make it right, to fix things, that he wants to let go, to finally let go, to stop caring so much, to stop worrying so much, but it will take too many words to say it all, so he doesn’t even try.
“Yeah,” he says instead, “it’s a little bit cloudy here.” And it’s enough to make Peter understand that Tony’s not okay, that something has happened.
“You know what?” Quill raises his eyebrows and moves closer to the screen. “I’ll be near the Earth soon, so I think I’ll make it to visit you, okay? You just wait, T. You just wait.”
Tony wants to say something but suddenly hears a loud yell from the transistor and there’s Rocket facing him. “Hey, Stark! Wanna tell me when you’re gonna return my frigging communicator?” he demands.
There’s some greeting “I am Groot!” at the background and then he hears Gamora laugh, “It’s old, Rocket, what do you need it for?”
“It’s all about principles!” Rocket shouts. “You hear me, Stark? Principles! This is on you!”
“I don’t understand. How can a communicator be on someone?” Drax asks and makes everyone laugh.
Something inside of Tony calms, he instantly feels free and warm, surrounded by these amazing people who made it clear that they’re considering him to be one of them, one of the family. They are losers, they’ve all fucked up somehow, they’re all broken in their own ways but together they just laugh at anything life throws their way. Hell, they’re not embarrassed to laugh at themselves.
“Yeah, about that,” Tony manages between his giggles, “it’s just like with a finger on your throat.”
“Ugh, metaphors,” Drax growls and he’s not angry, Tony suddenly understands, he just wants to make him at ease, to see his smile instead of a grumpy face. He sees how Gamora relaxes after seeing his laughter, how Rocket doesn’t mean anything he says and hides his care under sarcastic remarks (Tony’s good at it, too), how Groot is just happy to see him at all. And then there’s Peter, there’s always Peter. His eyes promise a lot, there’s affection, love and so much more, it makes Tony happy somewhere deep inside.
These people don’t care about his mistakes, about his reputation or his money. They don’t expect him to do something just because he’s Tony Stark. They told him that it’s okay to be tired or depressed, that’s what you got friends for, right? You can rely on them in tough situations. They told him that it’s okay to be done with things, to be tired, to lose hope only to find it again. They told him that it’s totally okay to be selfish sometimes. Well, when you don’t have to save the Universe, that’s it. They’ve given him a home and Tony still can’t understand how an old and battled space ship could become a place he calls “home”.
“We’ll be ‘round in two or three days,’’ Quill assures and Tony nods.
“You know,” Rocket narrows his eyes, “I’ll let you keep this tech. But just because you make us laugh. See? You made Groot happy. Peter will finally stop his sulking for a while.”
“No, no, this is wrong, this is so wrong! I Don’t Sulk!” Peter yelps.
“Shut it, Quill,” Gamora just rolls her eys.
“Shut what?” Drax raises his eyebrows.
“I am Groot,” Groot simply says.
“So, it’s a win-win situation, huh?” Tony suggests and they continue the chatter until Tony feels better, feels safe, guilt-free and happy.
“Thanks, guys,” he nods.
The first time they met Tony Stark, they saw just a man as broken and as lost as they were, and they made it clear that he fit right in.
The first time Guardians of the Galaxy met Iron Man, they saw Tony beneath the armour.