The guardians were winding down for the night in their ship, most of them in their own dorms, while Peter Quill and Adam Warlock were left to remain together in the common area. Peter, of course, was sharing tales of their glorious adventures while Adam was gone on his own duties. He tended to come and go, but his heart always remained with the friends he had among the Guardians of the Galaxy.
“We barely made it out of that one in one piece!” Peter ended that tale.
“Very exciting, Quill.”
“Yeah! You miss a lot when you're in that cocoon of yours, you know. By the way, do you, like, sleep in that thing? I've never seen you sleep before, I just gotta know.”
Adam gently shook his head. “Due to my perfect creation, I am beyond the need of sleep, especially sleep for leisure. My cocoon is solely for regenerative and protective purposes.”
“Cool, no sleep. Say since you aren't using it, can I?” Peter asked, a smirk on his lips, as though trying to charm his way into a ‘yes’.
“No. As I've said, it is for specific needs. That and it is my private space, Quill.”
“Aw, come on, it looks so cozy in there,” Peter whined. “Plus you look ah-mazing whenever you come out, imagine what that could do for me.”
“I thought you said you couldn't get more handsome.” Adam was getting cheeky now, something that tends to come out more whenever he was with Peter.
“Fine, but that's going right on my bucket list. I know the sleep in there is gonna be fire!”
“Whatever you say, Quill. Maybe you should get to sleep in your own bed, though. You've been awake for quite a while.”
“You know me, always full of energy. Heh, yeah, maybe I should get some sleep...” He stood from the bench of the table, taking one more look at the perfect golden boy and his stupid perfect golden locks. “You're just gonna…”
“I will stand guard and protect the ship while everyone rests,” Adam answered, gripping his karmic staff that laid on the table. “Sleep well, Quill.”
Peter couldn't help the smile. Some nights it was hard to sleep when there was uncertainty of their safety, but with Adam, he always knew they were safe indeed.
Their next mission would go haywired. Turned out the information they got wasn't completely accurate, as the big baddie wasn't just the leader of a gang, but nearly a whole damn army with an attack plan for bounty hunters. Even when Star-Lord proclaimed they weren't Bounty Hunters, per se, well, they still weren't going to hold back for them. The Guardians were in a losing fight with no proper back up plan, significantly smaller numbers, and a whole lot of panic.
The next plan was to book it back to the ship in one piece and regroup.
Amidst the combative escape, the infamous Star-Lord was apparently their biggest target. He was the leader, after all, and many people across the galaxy wanted his head. With the focused targeted attacks, Star-Lord was falling behind from his team mates.
Except from Adam Warlock, of course. While the rest were off ahead, Adam hung back to retrieve Star-Lord from almost literally drowning in the swarm of enemies. Deep wounds and busted rocket boots, there was no way he was making it out without help.
Adam Warlock's might would prove far superior than the enemy's, as he fought them off of Star-Lord, blasting them down one after another with his charged cosmic powers. Hell, if he hadn't been holding back for the sake of avoiding unnecessary deaths, they'd all be minced meat.
When he finally got ahold of Star-Lord, he lifted him into his arms, and used his cosmic blessings of flight to catch up with the rest of the guardians on the ship.
Finally aboard, Rocket Racoon was quick to start the ship. Wait- headcount, 1, 2… Okay, they were out of there! Thankfully nobody was on their tails, so they could properly take a moment to process what happened.
Rocket turned to his team. “So! What the flark happened out there?!”
“We were attacked,” Drax explained in a way that a normal person would think was sarcasm, but for him was an absolutely serious answer.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Rocket growled with definite sarcasm.
Gamora chimed in, “Either we were lied to about him or he knew someone would be coming and prepared.”
“I am Groot,” Groot grooted grootingly.
Rocket parroted, “Quill and Warlock? They're probably fine.” A quick look around and seemingly, Adam and Peter were nowhere to be seen. “Wait, we brought them with us, right?” Rocket asked. “Cuz I ain't going back, golden boy's got ‘em covered.”
“I sense they are around,” Mantis answered. “I can feel their energies.”
“Eh, good enough for me,” Rocket shrugged, the rest following suit with murmurs of agreement to tend to their own wounds and frustration.
Curiously, Mantis wandered off to go find them, tracking them down with her link to them. It wasn't too large a ship, so it was fairly easy to find the two in Peter's own quarters, with a cocoon on his bed. Only, Adam Warlock wasn't the one inside. Instead he stood next to the bed, watching over it tentatively.
“Is Peter in there?” Mantis asked, pointing at the mass on the bed.
“Yes. I have put him in there to help mend his deeper wounds and protect him.”
Mantis gasped as though she felt the pain upon hearing about it. “Oh my! But I am sure you will take good care of him. You're a very good healer.”
“Healing and protecting is what I do best. From here, he just needs rest, and will emerge when he is ready.”
Mantis smiled sweetly. “We are fortunate to have you with us, Adam Warlock. I will go to see if I can help with the rest of the guardians.”
“If they need healing, do let me know.”
“I will.” Thus, she left the two to their own.
Adam looked back down at the cocoon. “If I hadn't known better, I'd almost think you did this on purpose,” He spoke under his breath, knowing Peter wouldn't be able to hear him. Sure, he could communicate with him right now with a simple psychic link just to tease him, but the half-human needed rest.
He must’ve watched over him for an hour before the cocoon finally started to wriggle, until splitting open down the middle followed by Peter sitting up with a gasp for air like he was just buried alive.
“Was it what you had hoped?” Adam asked. Peter was visibly confused as he had just woken up forgetting when and where he was. “The cocoon?”
“The best sleep I've had since I was a baby!” Peter arched his back with a satisfying crack before stretching his arms. “What made you decide to cocoon me that time? Don't you have your, uh, magic healing thing?”
“I do, yes, but after that mauling you experienced out there,” His smile, softly glowing like the warm lights of heaven. “I believe you deserved a cocoon. How are your wounds?”
“Oh way better, forgot I even got my ass kicked.”
“Quite literally, too.”
There was that cheekiness again. Peter shook his head with a light laugh.
“I suppose we better meet with the others to discuss our next plans.” And just like that, Adam was serious again.
“Aw, really? Can I just have like five more minutes?” Peter asked, not expecting a real answer.
“...I don't see why not. Some extra rest would be beneficial for you.”
“Sweet!” Peter dropped back into the cocoon to resume his rest.
Come time for Adam Warlock to leave once more, something about a calling for his destiny. The Guardians expected this, of course, as it happened fairly often. On and off, he was, but always welcomed.
The night of Adam's departure, Peter Quill sighed as he made his way to his dorm, readying himself to be alone. Not that he and Adam shared a room, but Adam was one of the few that willingly indulged Peter in listening to music or watching his cheesy films.
Maybe he wasn't so alone. He remembered Adam said he left something for him, something to help keep him safe. What could that possibly be? He opened the door to see on his bed a cocoon, similar, but definitely not the same as Adam's.
“No way,” he whispered to himself with a smile as he investigated it. Oh yeah, he was sleeping in that tonight. Maybe the next night. And the night after- It's cozy, okay?
He laid back in the cocoon, and it began to close around him. Dark, but oh so warm like sunshine glowing on the beach, and tightly hugged him. It wasn't Adam, it wasn't his perfect, golden arms, but it was the next best thing.
Even without him physically being there, Peter Quill knew he was safe with Adam.