☆ Peter Quill ☆ Oneshots/Imagines

Count Me In

Peter was staring out the window, gazing out into the vast imagine of space in front of him. Thor, Rocket, and Groot had taken off in the pod to go build a weapon strong enough to defeat the purple titan, and the new plan was to head over to Knowhere in hopes to find the Reality Stone before Thanos. You were standing off to the side, watching him fondly as he seemed to be lost in thought until you said his name.

"Peter."

He looked over his shoulder and smiled, motioning for you to join him. Gamora, Drax, and Mantis were in the cockpit going over plans as you walked over to Peter, giving them a quick glance, you smiled at the Guardian's leader and asked if he was okay.

"Yeah, we're gonna kick Thanos' ass."

You laughed and shook your head, moving closer to him; shoulders touching as you reached out a hand to the window. It was cold, it was dark, and it was scary – space, the feeling of the unknown, of the uncertainty. Unable to stop the feeling that everything was going to come to an end, you felt a lump forming in your throat.

"Peter..."

"What?"

He gazed over at you, the smile on his face dropping as he noticed the concern in your eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, you turned to face him fully and inhaled deeply before speaking. "I don't know what's going to happen. This might work or it could end badly, from what Gamora says, it could end really badly and I can't go into this without telling you..."

Your voice cracked as tears formed in your eyes and Peter chuckled lightly, reaching both hands up to your shoulders.

"No crying in baseball," he teased, rubbing his thumbs against the fabric of your jacket. "Come on, what's going on?"

Staring into his moss colored eyes, you shrugged, brushing away the tears from your eyes. "I love you more than anything, Peter Quill. And if I have to die in order for you to live, I will. I will do it."

In an instant, Peter's face dropped and he reached for you, pulling you into his arms. He held you tightly against his body, hand riding up your back for support as he shook his head.

"You little shit," he whispered in a pained voice. "You ain't dying for me. If anyone gets to die for someone, it's gonna be me dying for you. This isn't how it goes. I go, not you. Got it?"

Holding back tears, you clung to the lapels of his jacket until he forced you off him.

"Look at me," he demanded softly, holding your chin up with his hand. "I get to die, not you. Tell me, say it."

"You go, I stay," you explained through tears, moving both hands up to Peter's face. "I love you more than anything."

Peter smirked then, peace in his eyes. "I love you too."

It had been only a few hours, at least that's what it felt like, a few hours since you told Peter Quill how much you loved him. A few hours since he had said he loved you too, the unspoken thing was finally spoken and as you kneeled beside the pile of ashes that remained of the man, your heart hurt so bad. They all had disappeared, except Nebula, Tony, and you.

"He did it," Nebula explained, anger in her eyes as she walked away.

You gazed down at the ashes, fingers dipping into the pile, hoping to feel him once more. Hoping to hear him say your name, to hear his laugh again. But all you heard, all you felt was emptiness.

"Dammit, Peter," you whispered, eyes closing in agony. He was gone and in that instant, you wandered what would have been worse.

Staying or going?

Dipping your head down, fingers deep in the pile, you cried.

"I should have gone, not you, Quill. They need you, not me."

'You're wrong," Tony said, kneeling beside you, hand resting on your shoulder. "We'll fix this, but we're going to need your help."

Knowing Peter would have jumped at the chance to fix this if it was you that was gone, you took a deep breath and brushed away the tears. Clutching a fist full of ashes, you held it tightly and nodded at Tony.

"Count me in."