I Thought You Were Different: Part 5

Reputations

When word spread throughout the rest of the team that the group called the Guardians of the Galaxy had arrived, everyone wanted to rush out to the lawn and see them for themselves, but Steve put a quick stop to the show before it could start. Pleasantries would have to wait until the business was discussed, given the rapid passing of every minute closer to their unknown fate. He left Stephen, Bruce, and reluctantly left Loki with the kids, meeting you in the hallway just outside of the infirmary to take you and Tony with Thor to meet this mysterious group of allies. He was trying to keep an open mind to who and what he was about to see, but since those first moments when he was brought back to life so many years ago, one thing he had learned was that he could never again be fully prepared for anything.

"That's a big ship," Steve whispered to Thor, standing together and waiting for the new team to emerge from it. "Tony's gonna be pissed if they tear up the grass."

"Tony doesn't care," the man of the topic broke in, "we have bigger things to worry about." Tony stepped forward towards the ship, looking for what could be the door to get inside. Unbeknownst to him, the Guardians were watching his every move, chuckling to themselves at his ineptitude until he finally found the door and knocked so loudly that the sound rang in their ears and forced them out.

"Hey, man, easy on my ship, alright?" Peter huffed, barging down the ramp before it fully opened to touch the ground. "I know you're a genius and shit, but you don't have anything on this rock that can fix it if you break it, I don't care how rich you are."

"Hold on, how rich is he?" Rocket asked under his breath, looking to each member of his team. "I mean, we could always just go buy a better one, right?"

"What's wrong with this one?"

"Nothing! I'm just saying, keep our options open, that's all."

"Excuse me, Mr. Quill?" Steve finally said, catching their attention. "If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to take you inside to talk about your offer to help? Thor tells us that some of you have dealt with Thanos before and could give us some information that we can maybe use?"

Peter turned to face Steve, and his mouth instantly fell open in shock at the man in front of him. He was transported back to his own childhood, the memories flooding him and forcing him to hold himself in this moment. "Well, slap my ass and call me Judy," he gasped, "you're Captain America. Holy shit, I used to love you when I was a kid. I had the coolest t-shirt with your face right across the chest, here," he paused, rubbing his hands over his pecs, "and I wore it almost every day until it just fell apart. I cried for a week. You were the dream, man."

"And I'm not anymore?" he smiled back pensively, the grin widening at the feeling of your hand moving to hold his arm. If there was nothing else in the world that he could count on, he could count on you for reassurance when he needed it.

"No! No, no, that's not...I didn't mean...I totally still love you..."

"Smooth, Quill. Nice save, dumbass," Rocket scoffed, laughing along with the rest of their team. His eyes met each one of them before he turned to look for Steve's reaction, but instead, he found himself watching you; you weren't smiling at all, and in fact, the sadness you carried took him aback. Maybe he recognized something that he saw in himself, or maybe he really was turning into a good guy after all, but no matter where it was coming from, as the joviality died down and the group moved to go inside, he stepped around Steve and kept pace at your side, remaining silent as you walked.

"So, you're...large," Tony began, looking at Drax, only a few steps ahead of him.

"And you are not," the Guardian replied flatly. "Why do they call you Iron Man, when you are clearly nothing more than a skin and bone, fragile human? I see no iron in your form."