Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Chapter 29

Bring your sweet loving,

Bring it on home to me,

Yeah,

Yeah,

Yeah,

Yeah...

...

For some time, darkness reigned supreme. And then, slowly, the world began to lighten, growing brighter and brighter until it burst back into color. Fallon winced, blinking hard a few times as her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden light. She wasn't sure where she was—and for a moment, her mind was too sleep addled to care—but wherever it was, it was soft and warm and comfortable enough that she thought about never leaving. Maybe she could just stay here and let all of her problems be resolved by time and space. That would be very nice.

But such a fantasy was quickly shattered by a soft, hopeful voice.

"Fallon?"

Fallon sighed, forcing a weak little smile before turning to look over at Adam, who sat in a chair by her bedside, a small, furry brown creature in his lap.

"Hey." She wanted to say more, but it was all that came to mind.

Not that Adam seemed to care.

"Hey." He sounded so excited, and his smile alone was enough to break her heart. "You're...you're back. You're better."

She wasn't certain of the latter, given the sore, groggy feeling that plagued her from head to toe, but she wasn't about to burst his bubble.

"Yeah." She paused, her attention settling on the lump of fur in his lap. "What is that?"

Adam blinked, then looked down at the creature, his smile widening. "Oh. I...I don't really know, actually. I thought he might be a cat, but I've never actually seen a cat before, so..."

He looked to her expectantly, and Fallon searched her memories—then the timeline—before remarking, "I think it's a dog. Maybe."

It definitely was not a dog, but how was she supposed to explain a F'saki to a guy who'd never seen a cat? Besides, Adam seemed more than pleased with her answer.

"A dog." He gave the creature a pat on the head. "Are you a dog, Blurp?"

Fallon was about to question the name, but the noise the creature made quickly cleared up her confusion.

Adam rewarded the little thing with a scratch behind the ears, a sight that sent a rush of warmth through Fallon's chest. He was so innocent, so gentle, so sweet. Like, well, like a boy with his dog. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to resist such a guy. But she had to. For his good and hers.

And she'd failed. Miserably.

Not that he needed to know that. At least, not for a little while longer. If she could hold onto this, if things could stay the same for just a moment long, maybe she'd be happy, and maybe he'd hate her a little less in the end.

"Cute." Fallon managed another smile as she tugged her blanket closer, only to wish she hadn't when realization hit. "Is this your cape?"

Adam nodded, a little bronze appearing across his face. "There weren't very many nice blankets around. And I thought you might like it better anyways."

Of course he did. Why wouldn't he? Hell, he'd probably been sitting in that same seat since she'd passed out, just waiting and hoping and praying for her to wake up. Ever the dutiful partner...