"This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted him to turn in early tonight…"

Tony smiled, looking at the boy who had fallen asleep almost immediately after finishing dinner, leaning precariously on his hand, which was holding his head up – barely.

"Think we're pushing him too hard?"

"No. He seems to be doing well, and I don't want our concerns to hold his recovery back." She smiled. "He certainly was cheerful, today – all things considered."

"I noticed that, too. Did he tell you why?"

"No. You?"

"Nope."

She shrugged.

"We'll find out, eventually. Natasha probably knows. Wake him up and put him to bed."

"Yes, dear."

She smiled at his meek tone, not at all fooled, and watched as her husband got to his feet and woke the boy they called their son with a gentle shake to his shoulder. Peter jerked awake, startled, and looking around, owlishly.

"Hmm? I fell asleep?"

Tony nodded, and Pepper could see the love in his eyes. It made her smile soften a little, always amazed at the change in the man. He'd been such an ass, so many years before. It was incredible that he'd managed to better himself the way he had – and still maintain those little nuances that she had always loved in him.

"You did. Bedtime, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Can you walk? Or do I carry you?"

She could tell he was half-hoping he was too wiped out to get to his feet on his own. Peter was too old to be carried to bed, really, but Tony loved doing it, because it was a dad thing, as far as he was concerned, and something that he didn't – and couldn't – get enough of. Peter shook his head, though, and she saw him tuck his hand almost automatically against his stomach, protectively.

"I'm okay." He looked around. "I should go find Nutmeg."

"I'll find him and bring him to your room before we go to bed," Tony promised, certain that if he let sleepy Peter wander the compound looking for his cat (even with the tracker making it easy) the boy was probably going to end up sleeping in whoever's quarters were closest to where he flopped down and gave up for the night Most likely Nick's. "Go to bed. We'll see you in the morning."

The boy nodded, getting up, and catching Tony in a sleepy hug. Then he did the same to Pepper as the billionaire settled back in the chair beside his wife's.

"Good night."

"Night, sweetheart. We'll have Karen wake you in time for breakfast."

"Okay."

Peter left the lounge, walking just a little unsteadily, and when he was gone Pepper gave Tony a look.

"You're going to have Friday watch and make sure he makes it to his rooms?"

"Definitely."

"Good." She smiled, feeling pretty satisfied with her world, just then. They weren't done with the aftermath of Thanos and his army, or Peter's involvement in it all, but his hand was getting better and she'd just gotten a hug from her baby. She saw Steve and Clint walk in, just then, with Jack cavorting at Roger's side, clearly excited, despite the time of evening. "I wonder how the negotiations are going with the Guardians."

Tony shrugged.

"Quill seems like a sharp negotiator; they'll probably set themselves up pretty well for a while." He reached for the cards that had been ignored while Peter was with them, but were now an option. "Not to mention Gamora… she's pretty tough."

"True. If this collector is so powerful, though, what's to keep him from taking the stone from them by force?"

"Carol's with them."

OOOOOOOO

"How did you get this?" Quill asked, surprised – especially when the two kids in the video suddenly vanished on the spot they were standing.

The ancient being didn't smirk, but it was a close thing. He loved showing off just how brilliant he was – even when it was to someone he didn't have to impress.

"Word came Thanos was collecting the stones. My jewel was a beacon to him, as I knew it would be. To protect it, I sent it away – making sure my servant didn't tell me where she was going. But I wasn't going to do something like that without a means to assure myself I'd get it back. The shuttle had a recall feature installed. Word has reached me that Thanos and his army were defeated – although my informants have yet to tell me where the final battle was – so I triggered the recall. Imagine my chagrin when the shuttle returned the other day without my servant – and without my jewel."

"I imagine that's disconcerting," Gamora agreed. "We have your stone, though, so you don't need to worry about it or its wellbeing."

"And my servant?"

"Why do you care?" Carol asked.

The Collector once more reminded himself that she was an unknown and that she might not be someone to pick a fight with. Especially in the midst of his collection which had already sustained some damage when Thanos had come calling. He decided to answer.

"She's a favorite of mine," he replied. "Why else would I send her out of harm's way before the mad titan arrived?"

"She's a person," Danvers said. "Not a possession."

"Everything here is a possession," he corrected. "I want mine back. Where is she?"

Gamora frowned, unimpressed by the demand. She didn't even look at Quill but she knew without consulting that he was going to be against the thought of giving away any indication of where Sirah was – especially since she was on his home world.

"We're not here to talk about a faceless servant," she replied. "We're here to discuss something much more valuable. Do you want it? Or do we walk and find someone else to sell it to?"

The ancient's eyes narrowed.

"Your father is dead… you don't have the might of Thanos' army behind you to protect you. Have care how you speak, here."

Carol lifted her chin, automatically defiant, even though the threat wasn't directed at her. She wasn't impressed by the ancient being, but understood that he was a potential threat that she didn't want coming to Earth, either.

"The stones have been wielded once to destroy a madman and an endless army…" she said, pointedly. "The kid who did it? He's a friend of ours. Do you really want me to call him here and now?"

That made the man hesitate, and they all saw it, even though he immediately schooled his expression.

"I'm no threat to the boy. He has no reason to come here."

"A threat to his world – or to his friends – might be all that he needs," Carol said, knowing even as she said it that even if Peter was willing to come, his baby face would make any threat that he made absurd. Except that the power he unleashed wasn't a secret. And it was formidable. "Has the light been seen here, yet?"

"The light is real…?" Tivan asked. "Truly?"

"Yes." Gamora was the one to reply, because she was the one with the contacts who had confirmed its progress. "It's spreading through the galaxy as we speak, destroying the remains of my father's army and leaving a wave of healing in its wake. Entire planets at a time have been affected."

"I've heard rumors, but I thought them to be fairy tales."

"The boy created the light with a snap of his fingers," Peter said, careful not to mention Peter by name. "He could probably take this shit heap planet out with a single word."

The collector scowled, not caring for the thought of testing that, but rankled at the threat. Gamora was probably the best of the three at figuring out how to make someone compromise without them really knowing they were doing it – she had a lot of experience with that growing up under Thanos, after all.

"The girl is safe," she told the collector. "And under the protection of the boy's people. When I last saw her, she was healthy and even somewhat content. You should be happy for her and leave her where she is."

"Or…?"

"Or it's going to get messy," Carol said. "The boy has a connection to the stones. To all of them, including the mind stone, which might be telling him right now that you're thinking about tracking him down and threatening him, or his people. That wouldn't be a good idea."

"Who is he?" The collector was more curious about the boy from the ancient prophesy than he was the servant girl – and the reminder of the connection to the infinity stones had been smart, because it did dampen his already forming idea that he'd track the girl and bring her back. Simply because he hated the thought of anyone taking something that was his. "Is his father really a metal man?"

"Of course not," Gamora scoffed. "He's formidable, though, and incredibly powerful – with powerful allies. He wants no animosity between you and his people, however, which is why we've been tasked with bringing you back your bauble – provided the delivery fee can be agreed upon."

"I want to meet him."

"That isn't going to happen," Carol told him, firmly. "He's busy, right now."

The implication being that the Collector – despite being ancient and a powerful entity in the universe – wasn't worth the boy's time, just then. The man's eyes narrowed at the insult and he found himself forgetting that he was being cautious around her.

"And if I kept you here until he came?"

The woman smirked, and raised her hand, pointing it toward the ceiling, which was at least a hundred feet above them. Her hand was suddenly blazing with power, and a blast of energy shot from it before any of them could react. The hole in the ceiling was impressive, and they all looked up at the sunlight filtering in through the rubble that was dusting down on them, having been shredded into particles that were too small to be dangerous.

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow her expressive eyes holding a challenge that none of them could mistake for anything but.

"Do you think you could?"

The collector looked at her, and then back at the object lesson, and then he sniffed, and looked at Quill.

"I'm going to take that out of your recompense. You know that, right?"

Star Lord shrugged.

"Let's talk numbers."