• Stars Align •||• Peter Quill X Female Reader •

Epilogue

"Why would you even know this?" Peter questions Nova Corps officers surrounding the hologram of Peter's body. The Nova officer Dey explains, "When we arrested you, we noticed an anomaly in your nervous system, so we had it checked out."

I can hardly believe it myself, let alone when Peter echoes, "I'm not Terran?" "You're half Terran," Nova Prime corrects. "Your mother was of Earth. Your father, well, he's something very ancient we've never seen here before." She seems fascinated by all of this information, while Peter seems to be barely processing it. "That could be why you were able to hold the Stone for as long as you did," Gamora adds.

"This is... wow. I never would have guessed," I say to Peter. "I mean, me, probably. I can heal people and make orange energy blasts. But you? There weren't really any signs of it or anything!"
"Speaking of which, Y/N..." I instantly perk up to hear what Nova Prime has to say. "Unfortunately, we don't have answers. Your DNA still points to Terra. For some reason, we can't seem to find a biological origin for your power." My shoulders sink. "Thank you, Nova Prime," I sigh. "I mean, what's there to find out about me, anyway?"

"Aw, Y/N, I'm sorry-" Peter begins, but I hold up my hand, cutting him off. Finding out about my heritage isn't important to me right now. I'll find out my origin when I'm ready to go back to Earth. What's important is what's in front of my very eyes.
I let myself smile despite my initial disappointment. "It's okay, really. Maybe it's a sign I should go back to Earth someday to find all of this out."

I grab his hand and deliver a short kiss to his knuckles. "I'm happy you at least got some insight on who your dad was." "We do know this, about you Y/N..." Nova Prime begins. "If there's no biological origin, then you more than likely weren't born with your abilities." Suddenly, I'm intrigued. Something must have happened to me when I was young to give me my powers. 

Drax and Groot finally walk in, just as we move past our heritage talk. With a smile on his face, Rocket holds a pot filled with soil and a twig that came from Groot. "Your friends have arrived," Nova Prime announces. "On behalf of the Nova Corps, we'd like to express our profound gratitude for your help in saving Xandar." She smiles at us. "If you will follow Denarian Dey, he has something to show you." "Thank you, Nova Prime," Peter says to her. I give her a small wave goodbye and follow Peter. We turn around to follow Dey outside, with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy joining us.

As we finally reach the doorway to the outside, we're greeted by a truly lovely sight. Our ship is as good as new, if not in better condition. My mouth hangs open in surprise. "We tried to keep it as close to the original as possible," Dey says. "We salvaged as much as we could."

"Holy shit," I exclaim, trying to keep myself from jumping up with joy. "Wow. I..." Peter whispers, then turns to Dey. "Thank you," he says to him. "I have a family. They're alive because of you," Dey responds. This brings a smile to all of our faces. "Your criminal records have also been expunged. However, I have to warn you against breaking any laws in the future."

"Question," Rocket chimes in. "What if I see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?" Dey bluntly tells him, "You will be arrested." "But what if I want it more than the person who has it?" "It's still illegal." "That doesn't follow. No, I want it more, sir. Do you understand?" Rocket pushes. I roll my eyes and snicker at him.

"What are you laughing at? Why? I can't have a discussion with this gentleman?" Rocket argues as Gamora leads him away from Dey and to our brand-new Milano.
"What if someone does something irksome and I decide to remove his spine?" Drax suggests. Dey gives Peter a small glance. "That's... That's actually murder. It's one of the worst crimes of all. So... also illegal." Drax hums and nods as if this were brand new information to him and walks away. "But what if they're a horrible person? What if they, like, murder babies or something? Would it be okay to kill them then?" I add, half-joking. Dey glances at Peter, concerned for the state of our team.

"They'll be fine, Dey. I'm gonna keep an eye on 'em," Peter assures as he slides his hand to my waist, holding me close to him. "You?" Dey asks. "Yeah. Me."

----

All of us are on board our new and improved ship. It's much better without any trash on the floor or the table, so I'll plan to keep it that way. The Guardians of the Galaxy are the new norm now. No more hiding in the darkness. Now, we have a family.
I look all around me. Drax and Rocket are arguing about something stupid, and Gamora is brooding in the corner. I'm used to this dynamic already. And I love it.

Suddenly, a melody fades in. A melody I haven't heard before, or at least in a long time. I walk over to Peter, who's silently listening to this song. A man on the tape player sings, "Listen, baby! Ain't no mountain high, ain't no mountain low, ain't no river wide enough baby!" There's some gift wrap on his bead. His eyes are filled with tears as he holds a letter in his hand.

This must have been the gift box from his mom. The one he has been so afraid to open up. A female voice joins the song, just as Peter notices me standing here. "If you need me, call me. No matter where you are, no matter how far." He smiles at me, not saying a word. As if I had known the song for a long time, I sway along to the music.

----

Just as the song slowly begins to end, the five of us make our way to the cockpit. I rest my arm on the back of Peter's captain seat, eying him dreamily. I can hardly believe it. We ended up saving the universe together. And we actually are together!

I pull my eyes away from my boyfriend for one moment to witness a tiny Groot growing in the pot on the dashboard. He yawns as if he was waking up from a long nap.

"So, what should we do next?" Peter asks all of us. "Something good? Something bad? A bit of both?" "Well, you're the captain... Star-Lord," I tell him. The tips of his ears turn bright pink as he smirks. "Bit of both!" he announces. I debate giving him a kiss in front of everyone, but I decide against it. "Great," I smile as I take a seat behind Peter.

The new ship revs up its engines smoother than the Milano ever did. I laugh in excitement about what's ahead of us.
Soon, we take off and leave Xandar. This is our life now. Our life is to help those who need help. Protect those who need protection. We're the Guardians of the Galaxy. And as far as I'm concerned, nothing's gonna break us apart any time soon.