Amongst the Stars // Peter Quill

Trouble In Paradise

Running into her father after twenty-plus years changed Charlie. She returned to the Milano in an entirely different light than she once bathed in. She was broken by encountering her father; if listening to the scene hadn't tuned the Guardians in on that, her saddened undertones following the meeting had. They hadn't noticed the change, at first, it happened over a long period of time that little signs popped up at each Guardian. 

It began with Peter, obviously. Since the ending of their adventure to save the galaxy, he had found a comfort in sleeping in the same bed as her. He noticed her change first when she didn't purposely use him as part of her pillow any longer. He had gotten used to sleeping with a leg tossed over his waist, or her head on his chest, or, sometimes, her feet by his head when she decided the mattress needed to be flipped, but she was too lazy to actually do it. 

Peter's first thought was that Charlie had an issue with him, or their relationship. It didn't take long to figure that it centered around the loss of her father. The grief she felt when they were first abducted returned, in a dosage significantly deeper than before, because now, she knew she could return. She would never, though-- that was the biggest slice to her heart. 

Days after returning to space, he was awoken by Charlie's soft sobbing. He didn't move to let her know he was awake. Peter simply laid with his back to her, eyes slammed shut in desperation. He wanted to roll over, comfort her, hug her, but he couldn't help her. She couldn't help herself. It was torture to listen to her cry, with no solution, and it happened for weeks. 

Peter spent his time distracting her and going out of his way to make her happy when she was outside of her room. She acted fine when she wasn't in the safety of her room. Around the Guardians, she was chipper and a giggly girl, like normal. It was in isolation where her thoughts caught up to her, and she broke. He tried his best to be with her at all times.

Charlie noticed his increased effort in their relationship. She wanted to respond to his arms constantly around her, or his full-on grins at her at random points in the day. She found herself only able to offer a smile at him. She knew, in her heart, it wasn't fair to him that he was being ignored by her. It wasn't on purpose, they both knew. Her mind was clouded with heart clenching thoughts of her life before space, her father, and Peter hadn't crossed it in the time since they returned to the galaxy. 

"You deserve better," said Charlie, one night. She had been sniffling into part of her pillow, that time, and she knew Peter was awake, though he refused to show it. "You can do better than me. You have a whole galaxy of girls who are stronger than me to choose from."

Peter turned to face the ceiling. He didn't speak immiedetly; his recently awoken mind needed time to process a response that wasn't going to do the thing he typically did: make the situation worse. He turned his head slightly, in her direction, but he didn't meet her eyes. He could barely find her eyes in the darkness of their room. 

"I asked you to marry me, Charlie," he whispered. "I'm not serious about a lot of things, but I am about that. I just... I don't know how to help you here."

Charlie tilted her head to look in his general direction. She sniffled, then chuckled, "If it's any consolation, I don't know, either. There's nothing we can do. I'm just sad. That's all."

Peter let the silence of the Milano reach their room, again. He stared at the softly glowing stick-on stars on their ceiling, mindlessly counting the excessive amount. He wasn't entirely thinking of the consequences of his words, nor how it would impact their relationship. He half-thought Charlie had fallen asleep, as she hadn't said anything either. 

"You could go home, you know," he said softly. "You have something to go home to. My mother's gone. Don't know where my Dad's at. I have nothing left on Earth. You've still got family, a life, probably. You could fix your sadness by going home."