Yay! I updated!

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"Kid, stay close! We don't know what these guys want, and I'm pretty sure it isn't a tea party!"

Peter flipped through the air. "Yessir Mr Stark!"

The teenager dodged a blast, firing back a web grenade. The unfortunate bot was pinned to the ground in seconds. "Although I'm pretty sure they're hostile!"

Tony shook his head tiredly. "That kid is-" his muttering stopped abruptly as a chunk of rock headed for him, and he dodged in mid-air.

"You okay, Mr Stark?" Peter asked quickly.

"Yup. Just peachy. Keep your mind in the fight. But do me a favor, kid? Stop it with the 'Mr Stark'. Makes me feel old."

"Feel?" Peter emphasized the word, laughter clear in his tone.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Watch it kid."

"Whatever you say Mr Stark!" Peter replied cheerfully.

The battle continued, the team fighting up close, and Peter webbing from a distance, throwing in the odd quip and sarcastic comment.

The enemy was not amused.

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The last robot was the strongest.

And the biggest. And fastest.

The core, a strange, pulsing green light that emitted a faint hum, made the hair on Peter's arms stand straight up.

"No one touch that-" his words were cut off by the core powering up, and shooting a beam of light directly toward Tony.

He threw himself forward, blocking the beam.

Black filled his vision.

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Tony watched in horror as the thing took Peter.

Then the core exploded, throwing them back.

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Peter woke up with no idea where he was.

A... thing was bending over him. Female, apparently.

She had glowing antennae, giving enough light to see her gentle smile, and dark eyes.

He scrambled back frantically. "Whoa whoa whoa please don't put your eggs in me!" He squeaked.

A green skinned woman entered his vision, also a female. Her hair was dark, going down to dark red tips, and she had silver designs etched into her skin. "Mantis is not going to hurt you."

Peter nodded slowly. "O-Okay. Uh. Who are you? What are you? And where am I?"

The women glanced at each other.

"I am Mantis." The first one said softly. "I am sorry if I scared you."

The green skinned one seemed to study him for a second longer. "I am Gamora."

Peter nodded again. "Okay. Uh. Still don't know where I am. I'm Peter, by the way."

Gamora's lips twitched into a smirk. "Really?"

Then she raised her voice. "Peter!"

Peter winced. "I'm right here. You don't have to yell."

Then someone poked his head through a door in the wall. "Yeah?"

Peter stared at him. Then at Gamora. Then the strange dude.

And realization dawned. "Ohhhhh. Is his name Peter too?"

The other guy looked offended. "No. My name is Peter Quill."

Peter frowned. "That's what I just said."

A large man came pushing Quill away from the door. His skin was purplish-gray, with red designs all over his bare chest.

On second thought, he was probably an alien too.

"His name is not Peter Too. Too is a stupid name." His voice was deep.

Peter opened his mouth in confusion. "But I- that isn't-"

Gamora laughed. "Yes. That is Peter. And the big one is Drax. Rocket is flying the ship."

Peter froze. "Flying the- ship?"

Mantis pointed to the window. "It is beautiful, is it not?"

Peter shot up. "Mr Stark's gonna kill me. I have to get back!"

The other four simply stood there.

"Uh... kid?" Peter Quill said awkwardly. "You're from earth, right?"

The teenager's eyes widened. "And... I'm in space. Oh wow. Ned's gonna have a field day."

Quill exhaled slowly. "Kid. We're two earth months away from, well, earth. You're not getting back there any time soon."

Peter's brain refused to process the words. "I'm sorry, what? That- that can't be. Where did that thing send me?"

Mantis tilted her head. "We found you on Sakaar. A friend of ours, Valkrie, helped get you out. She only helped because Thor spoke about you."

Peter shook his head. "Sakaar?"

Drax nodded. "Its where all the unwanted trash in the galaxy winds up."

Peter winced. "Oh."

"Drax!" Gamora scolded.

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Peter leaned against the seat, watching Rocket, the genetically modified raccoon, flying the ship.

"Whaddya want kid? Staring ain't polite."

Peter shrugged. "Just wondering. How can you talk?"

The raccoon glared at him. "I'm a failed experiment. A mutant."

Peter's eyebrows scrunched together. "Really? Doesn't seem like it. You're cooler than a lot of people I know."

The raccoon's nose twitched. "Thanks."

"I am Groot!" The tree piped up.

"Yeah yeah. I'm not going to kill him."

Peter's eyes widened, and he backed away slowly.

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The two months passed slowly, and Peter was extremely homesick.

The guardians were nice, yeah, but none of them could hug like Mr Stark.

Or had his sense of humor.

Or just... dad-ness in general.

Oh wow. Did he really just think that?

Abort! Abort!

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It was nighttime when the ship touched down in New York city.

Peter hugged them all, except for Rocket, of course, and stepped down onto the roof.

"Thanks guys. Hopefully you can visit again."

Quill saluted. "See you kid. And watch Footloose for me, yeah?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Still not the greatest movie."

They had had that discussion multiple times, and Peter remained adamant.

Quill shrugged. "Oh well. See you kid."

Gamora nodded to him. "Stay safe."

Mantis smiled shyly. "Tell Thor we said hi."

Peter saluted. "Will do!"

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Peter slowly opened the window of his apartment, and climbed in. He made his way across the room in the dark, hit his shin on something hard, and yelped in pain. Muttering under his breath, he flipped the light on, then opened the door.

The lights in the hall were out, the only ones on being the bathroom and May's bedroom. He opened her door silently. She was asleep at her desk, her head resting on her arms. He picked her up, carrying her to the bed. She stirred but didn't wake, and he left the room, turning off the light.

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He was awake before the sun rose, and sat at the table with a cup of tea. May shuffled into the kitchen at 9:00. She opened the fridge, grabbed a donut, and shut the door.

“Isn't that unhealthy?” Peter asked quietly. She gasped and spun around, the donut hitting the floor. Her eyes settled on the teenager.  “Hi Aunt May.” Peter said conversationally.

Tears filled her eyes. “Peter? Stark said... the explosion-”

Peter nodded. “Yeah. I got sent to space." Her hands covered her mouth.

“I'm okay,” he reassured her quickly. “I'm okay now.” She hugged him silently, tears soaking his shirt. He patted her back.

“I'm okay, May. I'm fine. I'm home.”

She pulled back, wiping her eyes. “Don't you ever do something like that again!”

He shook his head. “I can't promise that, May. You know I can't. But I'll try not to.” She hugged him again. “Does Tony know?”

Peter raised his finger. “I should actually go there now.”

She shook her head, laughing a little. "Okay, but you better not get sent into space again."

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Peter trudged slowly to Stark Tower. The elevator carried him to Tony's personal floor, and Peter knocked quickly, then stepped back. After several minutes, Pepper opened the door, and almost dropped the cup she was holding, her face going white. "Peter?"

“Yeah. Where's Mr Stark?”

She blinked. “He's probably in the common room with the team.”

He stepped aside as she moved onto the elevator. “Is he okay? I've been gone for quite a while. Is he taking care of himself?”

She turned to face him after pressing the button. “No. He hasn't been the same. He blames himself. He wanted to protect you.”

Peter looked down. “I know.” Pepper scanned her handprint beside the door of the room, and it slid open.

The room was quiet, the mood subdued.

Everyone was doing their own thing.

Clint was waxing the string of his bow.

Natasha was sharpening her knives.

Steve was just sitting there.

Muffled crashing sounds came from the kitchen.

A movie played in the background, but no one was paying attention to it.

It kinda felt like a funeral.

Pepper cleared her throat, and their eyes all lifted, and they froze.

Peter waved awkwardly. "Hi."

Clint slowly put down the bow, eyes crinkling in a smile.

Natasha opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Steve just stared.

They all stared.

Finally Peter got tired of the staring. "Please, guys? Can you not look at me like I was dead?"

Natasha pointed at him. "You were. You were dead. Wanda said she couldn't find your life force anywhere."

Peter blinked. "Oh. Wow. Wish somebody had told me. I could've gotten a break. Anyway, where's Tony?"

Steve cleared his throat, raising his voice. "Uh, hey Tony? Come here."

Tony's voice came from the kitchen, abrupt, and sharp. "What, Steve?"

Steve turned a little. "Come here."

"I said what."

Steve glanced back at Peter. "You really might want to come see this."

There was an irritated sigh, and Tony walked out.

Peter inhaled silently.

Tony looked half dead with exhaustion. His eyes were red, and his hair was a mess.

Steve directed the billionare's gaze toward the door.

On seeing Peter, his face whitened.

"Hey Mr Stark. I'm back."

There was a silence, in which the others quickly and quietly left the room.

Tony didn't make a move, instead drinking in the sight of the kid- his kid, that he hadn't seen in months, who was thought to be dead.

Peter gave a hesitant half smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it back sooner. I tried. I really did."

Tony shook his head slowly. "Hey kid."

Peter moved forward, coming to a stop several feet in front of Tony. "I- I uh... missed you."

Tony moved forward, taking the steps necessary to reach the teenager, then he was hugging Peter.

Peter wrapped his arms around the older man, content, as he got the long overdue hug.

"I will ground you if you ever do something like that again, understand me?" Tony spoke sharply, but Peter could hear the undertone of relief.

"Got it."

When Peter let go, and tried to move back, Tony tightened his hold. "Nope. I haven't gotten to hug you in two months. And I thought you were dead. You're not getting away that easily."

Peter relinquished his attempt to escape, putting his arms back around his mentor.

"Okay. I missed your hugs. Aliens don't give good ones."

.........

"You tried to hug an alien?"