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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐀𝐋

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Primrose smiled as she listened to the music blasting over the radio. She mouthed the words while pulling the dishes out of the dishwasher and placing them into the cabinet. Happiness coursed through her veins as she turned off the sink and dried her hands. After spending five years in New Asgard, the Quill woman felt like she had a new purpose. She was part of something again and knew she was needed. Primrose was slowly starting to feel like herself again. But that feeling always left her the second her eyes landed on the picture of her and Peter.

The smile on Primrose's face slowly faded as she picked up the frame. Memories came flooding back of all the time they spent together. She still missed him more than she could ever describe. If you asked her five years ago, she would give and do anything to get her brother back. But if you asked her now, it would be almost anything. There were some things in her life now that she couldn't lose, and she knew Peter would understand. He would probably say the same thing if he were in her position.

The Quill woman stared at the picture for what felt like an eternity before snapping out of her thoughts. She placed the picture back on the shelf and walked out of the kitchen. A small sigh passed over her lips as she sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. It was rare for her to get a moment of silence. And even though she loved her new life, she cherished every second of alone time. But of course it didn't last very long.

A knock caused Primrose to jump, not expecting the sudden break in the silence. Confusion flowed through her veins as she stared at the door. Freyr and Valkyrie always walked right in and called out to Primrose to announce their arrival. She hadn't seen Thor in months. And when she did, the Quill woman would always have to go to him. The only other people who ever visited her were Grace and Astrid, but the former always let Primrose know they were coming before their visit. So who on earth would be knocking at her door?

Primrose stared blankly at the door until another knock broke her out of her trance. Her thoughts were on overdrive as she walked toward the door. She stood in front of it for a moment before grabbing the knob and pulling it open. Her blood ran cold when she found herself staring into the eyes of a giant green man. The Quill woman took a step back without thinking and moved to close the door, only for her to freeze when a voice called out her name. Her attention moved toward the source of the sound to a familiar set of eyes staring back at her.

"Rocket?" Primrose said in a tone just above a whisper. All her hesitance soon vanished as she pulled Rocket into a long overdue hug. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before ending their reunion. "I'm sorry it's been so long."

"You needed a break. We all did," the raccoon responded after Primrose stepped aside to allow Rocket and Hulk into her house, "I just hope you found what you were looking for here."

His words caused the Quill woman to hesitate for a moment, which didn't go unnoticed by Rocket. But Primrose responded before he had a chance to question it. "I definitely found what I was looking for."

The raccoon watched her with a hint of curiosity in his eyes as he and Primrose sat down on the couch. Hulk stood in the corner of the room, wanting to be part of the conversation but not wanting to break anything. They let the silence surround them for a short moment before the Quill woman finally asked the question bouncing around in her head. "I'm really happy you're here, Rocket. But why are you here?"

"We need your help, Prim," Rocket explained while Primrose stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face, "Stark thinks he found a way to bring everyone back. But he needs a team and you're the smartest person I know. You're the best person to help us pull this off. And he also wanted us to bring back Thor."

The Quill woman's smile was long gone as she took in his words. Rocket and Hulk waited in anticipation for her to say something, knowing she wanted Peter back more than anything. So they were very surprised by her response. "I'm sorry, Rocket. I wanna help you, really I do. But I can't."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's something you should know. I-"

Before Primrose could finish speaking, the front door swung open. A voice she knew all too well but was new to Rocket and Hulk called out to her. Freyr soon walked into the living room with a grocery bag in one hand and a young girl wrapped in his other arm. The smile on the God of Peace's face faded as his eyes moved between the raccoon and the green giant. That lasted for a moment longer before his attention fell on Primrose. "I take it these are friends of yours."

"Who are these people?" Rocket asked while keeping his eyes glued to the pair standing in front of him.

"Rocket, this is Freyr, the God of Peace," the Quill woman explained before swallowing the lump in her throat. Not even a second after that passed when she got to her feet and walked toward Freyr. He greeted her with a small smile before passing the young girl over to her. A shaky breath passed over Primrose's lips as she turned back around to face Rocket. "And this is Jordan...our daughter."

"That's unexpected," Hulk blurted out without thinking then quickly shut his mouth.

Freyr's eyes moved to greet the Banner man's before speaking. "You're telling me. I have a green giant wearing glasses and a talking baby bear in my house."

"I'm not a baby bear!"

"Kitty!" Jordan cheered while pointing at Rocket.

Primrose did her best to hold back a laugh when she spotted the annoyance in Rocket's eyes. But her joy soon faded after seeing the hint of sadness in his eyes. That was all it took for her to hand Jordan back to Freyr. "Why don't you go show Bruce the back garden? I'm sure he'd like to see the Asgardian plants you brought back."

"You want me to show him plants?" the Njördson man questioned with a quirked eyebrow, earning a pleading look from Primrose. A long sigh soon passed over his lips as he looked over at the Hulk. "Come, green giant. Let's go look at some plants."

A confused look appeared on the Banner man's face as he followed Freyr and Jordan out the back door. Primrose waited until she heard it close before turning her attention back to Rocket. "I meant to tell you sooner."

"Why didn't you?" the raccoon questioned without looking up to meet her gaze.

"I didn't know how," Primrose admitted with a crack in her voice, drawing Rocket's attention back to her. He watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek as she sat down on the couch. "I love both of them with every bone in my body. They make me so happy and Jordan is such a bundle of joy. But no matter how happy they make me, there's always a part of me that feels guilty for moving on without Peter. And I knew if I told someone outside of New Asgard, it would feel too real. Like right now I feel like I'm being pulled out of the most realistic dream I've ever had."

Another tear made its way down Primrose's cheek before she placed her head in her hands. All Rocket did was watch her for a moment before sitting next to her on the couch. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You shouldn't feel guilty, Prim. Quill would've wanted you to be happy. He would've wanted you to move on with your life."

The Quill woman nodded before letting out a long sigh and looking over at Rocket. "You're right. He would. But I won't be truly happy without my brother back. I'm gonna help you. I owe it to Peter to at least try."

"What about Freyr and Jordan?"

"Freyr lost his sister to Thanos. Trust me, he's not gonna wanna sit out on this. And I can find someone to watch Jordan while we're gone. Just give me thirty minutes and I'll show you where Thor is...but I don't know how much help he'll be."

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After explaining everything to Grace and leaving Jordan with her, Primrose and Freyr walked hand-in-hand as they led Rocket and Hulk toward Thor's house. It wasn't long before they were standing in front of the small stone house right outside of New Asgard. The Odinson man claimed it as his own not long after their arrival. He liked how it was far away from everyone else, allowing him to seclude himself from the world. Primrose tried to get him to venture outside multiple times, but he only seemed to leave when he needed more supplies.

The couple stayed back to allow Rocket to knock on the wooden door. He looked over his shoulder at his friends when he didn't get a response before knocking again. After being greeted by silence for the second time, the raccoon pushed the door open. They followed Rocket inside and looked around at the clutter that filled every inch of the space. The Quill woman cringed when an unpleasant smell greeted her nose. It was worse than the last time she visited, and that was saying a lot considering it was already pretty bad.

"Whew! Something died in here!" Rocket exclaimed as they walked further into the house.

Not even a second after that passed when they heard glass bottles clanking, causing Bruce to call out to his friend. They all stopped in their tracks after turning the corner and taking in the scene in front of them. It was definitely a lot worse since Primrose's last visit.

"Are you here about the cable?" the God of Thunder asked while digging through a bowl of bottles, "the Cinemax went out two weeks ago and the sports are all kinda fuzzy and whatnot."

"Thor?" the Banner man questioned, causing the blonde man to slowly turn around to face them. Shock coursed through all their veins when they found the Odinson man with long unruly hair and a beer belly.

"Guys! It's so good to see you!" Thor exclaimed after walking across the room and pulling the Hulk in for a tight embrace. It wasn't long after that when he turned to hug Rocket. "Come here, cuddly little rascal."

"Yeah, no! I'm good! I'm good! That's not necessary!" the raccoon exclaimed while pushing himself away from the God of Thunder.

"Primrose! Freyr! It's been too long!" the Odinson man declared while pulling them in for a hug, one they hesitantly returned.

As soon as their reunion ended, Thor gestured toward his friends sitting on the couch with a large smile on his face. "You know my friends, Miek and Korg, right?"

"Long time no see," Bruce said with a forced smile on his face.

"Beer's in the bucket. Feel free to log on to the Wi-Fi. No password, obviously," Korg told them before his attention returned to the TV, "Thor, he's back. The kid on the TV."

All the joy soon faded from Thor's face as he stared at the TV. "Noobmaster. I'm sick of this."

It wasn't long before the God of Thunder walked toward Korg and took the headset from him. Confusion flowed through Primrose's veins as she watched Thor talk into the headset. "Noobmaster, hey, it's Thor again. You know, the God of Thunder. Listen, bud, if you don't log off this game immediately I am gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you're hiding in, rip off your arms, and shove them up your butt! Oh, that's right, yes! Go cry to your father, you little weasel."

"Thank you, Thor," Korg said after the Odinson man gave him back the headset.

"Let me know if he bothers you again, okay?"

"Thank you very much. I will."

Not even a second after that passed when Thor turned his attention back to Bruce, Rocket, Primrose, and Freyr. The smile quickly returned to his lips as he began speaking. "So, you guys want a drink? What are we drinking? I've got beer, tequila, all sorts of things."

"Buddy," the Hulk said while placing his hand on Thor's shoulders, who was taking a sip of his newly opened beer, "you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Why? Why? Don't I look alright?"

"You look like melted ice cream," Rocket announced, earning nods in agreement from Primrose and Freyr.

The Odinson man laughed in response before taking another sip of his drink. "So, what's up? You just here for a hang? Or what?"

"We need your help," the Banner man explained, causing Thor to nod, "there might be a chance we could fix everything."

"What? Like the cable?" the God of Thunder asked while gesturing toward the box on top of their TV, "because that's been driving me bananas for weeks."

"Like Thanos."

The light in Thor's eyes instantly faded as he blankly stared at the wall in front of him. It wasn't long after that when he grabbed Bruce's shirt and pulled him down to be at eye level with him. "Don't say that name."

Korg slowly got to his feet and removed his headset. His eyes moved between the Hulk and the God of Thunder before opening his mouth to speak. "Um, yeah, we don't actually say that name in here."

A small smile soon appeared on Bruce's lips as he carefully removed Thor's hand from his shirt. The two of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before the Banner man broke the silence between them. "Now, I know that...guy...might scare you."

"Why would I be scared of that guy?" the God of Thunder scoffed while keeping his eyes locked on the Hulk, who placed his hand comfortingly on his friend's shoulder, "I'm the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here kill that guy? Nope. Didn't think so. Korg, why don't you, uh, tell everybody who chopped Thanos' big head off?"

"Um, Stormbreaker?"

"And who was swinging Stormbreaker?"

"I get it. You're in a rough spot, okay? I've been there myself," the Hulk said in a gentle tone while Thor took another long sip of his drink, "and you wanna know who helped me out of it?"

"Was it, uh...Natasha?"

"It was you. You helped me."

The God of Thunder just stared at Bruce for a moment before pushing passed him to look out the window overlooking New Asgard. It wasn't long after that when he plopped down in his armchair with a long sigh. "So, why don't you ask the Asgardians down there how much my help is worth? The ones that are left, anyway."

"But what if we could bring them back? Don't you wanna be part of that?" Primrose asked while taking a step forward to stand beside the Hulk.

"Stop. Stop, okay?" the Odinson man told them while grabbing a bag of chips from the table next to him, "I know you think I'm down here wallowing in my own self-pity waiting to be rescued and saved but I'm fine, okay. We're fine, aren't we?"

"Oh, we're good here, mate," Korg answered while Miek gave a click in response.

"So, whatever it is that you're offering, we're not into it. Don't care. Couldn't care less. Goodbye," Thor concluded while looking back over at the four people standing in front of him.

"We need you, pal," Bruce said, earning a small chuckle from the Asgardian before the latter took another sip of his drink.

They stood in silence for what felt like an eternity before Rocket let out a long sigh. "There's beer on the ship."

Thor just stared at the empty bottle in his hand for a long moment before looking over at the raccoon. "What kind?"

"Am I gonna regret joining you on this quest?" Freyr asked Primrose after the Odinson man walked out of the room to pack a bag.

"Most likely," the Quill woman responded with a large smile on her face before kissing his cheek.

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