Chapter Text
Earth.
It had been over 30 years since Peter Quill was on Earth. The last thing he ever did on Earth was crying over his mother's death to cancer in the hospital. He made so many memories with his mother Meredith. Most of them involved listening to the hit songs of the 70s and 80s, as well as the hit movies like Footloose. After all, she curated the "Awesome Mix-tapes" he listened to for so long, even after she died. Meredith meant everything to him. She was the reason he named himself "Star-Lord".
Quill had gone back to his childhood home in Missouri, USA. His home where his family last saw him. His home before he was taken by the Ravagers. When he returned home, he wasn't sure if he had anything to come back to or look forward to. His mother was dead. He never had the closest relationship with his grandparents, aunts or uncles. He didn't seem to remember anything about his family that wasn't about Meredith. It surprised him to know that his grandfather was not only alive but had also survived the Snap. His last memory of him was of him in the hospital with Meredith as she was dying. He couldn't even remember his first name when he first met him after all these years. The old "Mr Quill" was living in the local retirement home for several years. "Mrs Quill" had already passed away peacefully before the Snap. Despite being devastated by the loss of not only Meredith but his other adult children, he was glad to have finally seen his grandson again. Peter told him about all of the adventures he had in deep space from his time with Yondu and the Ravagers to the missions with Guardians of the Galaxy. He did not tell him about Titan or the events that led to the Snap. He was too guilty to tell about it to anyone who wasn't an Avenger or a Guardian. Quill didn't even bother finding the house he had grown up in since it would have been bought by some other family since he left and Meredith died. Quill did find the cemetery where a memorial gravestone had both him and his mother's name. Their "deaths" were dated back in 1988. Finally, he was able to give a "proper" farewell to his late mother after all these years without her.
Groot and Nebula were the only other Guardians who didn't snap out of existence. Despite his strong sense of family with the Guardians, he did not feel like going back to space for the time being. Groot was finally starting to grow into an adult. He and Nebula left to go on space patrol "missions" with Captain Marvel while Peter was staying on Earth since the two aliens had zero connection to Earth. Every now and again, Quill would video chat with his fellow Guardians to catch up, although there wasn't much going on. After what happened on Titan, he had enough of being in space for a long time. He had been catching up with every cultural event that had happened since 1988; the movies and music of the 1990s-2010s, video games, the end of the AIDS epidemic, 9/11, the Olympics, and of course the Internet. He even caught up with the stories of the Avengers; Captain America, Iron Man, Thor's arrival on Earth, the New York invasion, the events of Sokovia. He never felt like contacting the Avengers because they would all be going through the same process of figuring out life after the Snap. However, part of him wondered if they would be better off going through all of this together rather than alone. Especially Thor, since they were both the most guilty for letting Thanos win. But he never ended up doing any of that.
He spent his Missouri life taking care of the people in his community. He helped rebuild houses, he repaired cars, he helped with farming, not to mention taking care of the kids and playing games with them. He at least made a good enough living for himself. He bought himself an iPhone to replace his Zune, for his music and his convenience. Quill seemed to be doing well for himself considering the circumstances.
2021. Three Years after the Snap.
It was just an ordinary day for Peter Quill. Well, "ordinary" for the post-Snap world. Quill was looking like a lumberjack; sporting a beard, not unlike Thor and Captain America's, as well as one of those "lumberjack" button-up shirts. He had a job to do. He had to do something worthwhile during this post-Snap period. As long as it didn't involve super-heroics. Not that there were any supervillains or criminals to take down anyway. Today, he was helping to finish fixing the local train station building. There was nothing wrong with the train or the railroad. It was just that a bus had crashed into the building when the Snap happened. There weren't many carpenters or construction workers left after the Snap, so it very much was a community effort. It was 3 pm when they finished fixing the station, just in time for a 3 pm train to stop by. Quill and the builders were shaking the hands of each other. They even shook the hands of the people who got off the train into the station. Men, women, children, what was left of families. A job well done. It wasn't long until the passengers and the builders had left the station. Quill packed up to go back to his cabin home. It was a long day of work. He was about to leave the station. And then he heard a familiar deep male voice.
"Quill?"
Quill turned around. He saw Thor. In the casual Earth clothes that he saw him wear when he met up with him at the Avengers Compound. Thor's hair and beard had grown overlong. He was looking dishevelled, wearing Stormbreaker on his back. Quill approached him. Thor's eyes widened, seeing Quill looking normal, looking like he was doing well for himself post-Snap.
"Thor?" Quill asked him. "Is that you?"
Thor was speechless. Quill was expecting a response. Instead, all of a sudden, Thor quickly pulled his arms around him and cuddled him.
"Woah, easy there, pal," Quill said.
"I am so glad to see you, Quill," Thor told him. "I see you've copied my beard."
"Oh, this? I didn't mean to. I've just been doing a lot of community work lately."
"No, it looks good on you. Better than whatever monstrosity is on my face."
"Well...thanks...What are you doing here?"
"I didn't know where else to go, or who else to go to."
"Wait...what happened to you, Thor."
Quill took Thor to his wooden cabin near the woods that he lived in, similar to the ones in horror movies but much less ominous. He really was a lumberjack. His cabin was modest, there wasn't a lot. He had functional appliances, a functional kitchen, a functional bathroom. He did, however, have a few posters of his favourite musicians and movies discretely hung up.
"So this is what you've been doing for these past three years," said Thor, impressed by the cabin, but unimpressed by the smell of alcohol.
Quill replied, "Well you know, I couldn't just do nothing. I've been helping out in the community. Things have been going pretty well here. Of course, no one is completely happy, but we're getting by."
"You're taking this post-Snap world pretty well considering...you know what," Thor told him.
"I guess..." Quill responded, looking back at the dishevelled Thor. "I take it that you're not doing well?"
"What was your first clue?"
"I just have to ask you, Thor, what happened to you?"
Thor sat down on the wooden chair at the wooden dining table. Quill sat against the back of his couch. Thor begins to explain,
"The Asgardians established a colony in Sweden, only for the Snap to happen. My friends Valkyrie, Korg and Miek were the ones who led them to safety. The Asgardians weren't happy when I came to tell of the news about Thanos' victory, understandably. I didn't feel I could be trusted anymore by them. Not even by Valkyrie, Korg and Miek. I was too guilty. Which is why I went on voluntary exile. I left the New Asgard. There was no place for me after what I did. I ventured through forests, mountains, hills, countrysides and towns across Europe. Three years had passed, and this exile wasn't making me feel any better. I just had nightmares. I just felt more alone. I'm pretty sure I'm going through depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder. I read up mental illness many years ago. I didn't want to go back to New Asgard, and I didn't want to go back to the other Avengers. So I thought I should come to you, Quill. Because you understood what I was going through after we failed to stop Thanos. I contacted Steve so he can bring me to you. I didn't want any help from Steve as much as he wanted to help me out. I just wanted to see you...and how you were going."
Thor was both right and wrong about Quill. Quill did understand him. Thanos' victory was thanks to their mistakes. They indeed had shared guilt and empathy towards each other after what happened. But it was clear that Quill had moved on...and Thor hadn't.
"Honestly...I don't know what to tell you, Thor."
"I understand. You've clearly recovered much faster than I have been."
"Well, it was so many years since I had been on Earth. There was so much I had to catch up on. Earth, my family, my home. I guess that made it easier."
"What about Gamora?"
"Even if there was a way to reverse the Snap and bring people back, I don't think Gamora can be brought back. Thanos sacrificed her for the Soul Stone. Gamora was dead for good. The fact that I already lost my mom and dad years ago may have also made it easier to move on. It was Thanos who killed her, not me. I didn't want to let her, my mom and my dad down by not moving on from her to continue a happy life as part of my Guardians family that united together. I'm not with my Guardians right now. Half of them were snapped. But...still...I had to move on."
"That's fair. But I've let too many people down. I've made too many mistakes."
"You wish your loved ones were still here too?"
"Yes. My father. My mother. My brother. Asgard. All gone."
"I'm sorry. I wish there was a way to avenge all our dead loved ones. But they're still alive in our hearts and our memories. I don't think they want you to lose hope or faith. We're not the only people suffering, Thor."
Thor was touched by Quill's words. Within minutes, Thor was starting to feel just a bit better. Emphasis on "starting". Quill was right that he wasn't the only person suffering. And certainly not the only hero suffering. From Tony to Steve to Natasha. Thor was in a dark place before seeing Quill again. They were both broken. Perhaps, they could both become whole again. Perhaps Quill could save him.
"Can I stay here with you, Quill?" Thor asked him.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Quill asked back.
"Yes," Thor replied. "I think you can help me get through all of this guilt and pain."
"In that case, I can try," Quill responded. "You're welcome to stay."
"I know we can do this," Thor told him an empathetic smile. "Together."
"Together," Quill nodded with an empathetic smile. "Come on here."
Quill cuddled his arms around Thor to comfort him. Thor held tight. The two closed their eyes, shedding tears. They felt each other's guilt and pain. The empathy they shared had returned.