The Weight of the Universe | Avengers

29. The Time Heist

"Thor, you don't have to continue." Aurora tries to interrupt him nicely as Bruce gestures him to stop, though Thor has ignored that entirely. The rest of the team share either confused or exhausted glances of embarrassment, apart from Scott. He listens very excitedly to every detail and keeps nodding.

"Oh, you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, so.... These things happen though, you know. Nothing lasts forever. The only thing that– "

"Why don't you come sit down?" Tony cuts him off, attempting to guide Thor to his seat but he shakes the billionaire off.

"I'm not done yet. The only thing that is permanent in life is impermanence." Thor tries to philosophize and Tony pats his shoulder.

"Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast? The muffin that Aurora threw in your face?" He offers his friend and Thor smiles.

"No, I'd like a Bloody Mary."

Tony and Aurora help him lie down on the couch in the living room and the auburn-haired sighs, announcing the necessary information about the Reality Stone when she returns. "The Aether needs a body or or a sort of shell to be in a concrete form, otherwise it's just red jelly."

"And why the hell couldn't you say that sooner, so we could've saved ourselves from this embarrassing presentation?" Rocket grumbles, some nod in agreement with him. Aurora lowers her head, pouting slightly.

"Scott's excitement made Thor feel great for a moment."

Scott smiles. "It was a good story!"

***

"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag." Rocket informs them as they are having lunch, Tony has ordered Chinese food for everyone. To Eve's surprise, the Guardians seem to like the meals a lot, especially Rocket himself. He's eaten a lot of those egg rolls.

"Is that a person?" Bruce asks while he's eating his Ben & Jerry's flavor Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge. Eve grabs her spoon and sends the big guy a silent questioning look. He nods with a smile, allowing her to try it and she takes a spoonful. It tastes delicious and she lifts her thumb in approval, which makes him happy.

"Morag's a planet." Rocket clarifies and Aurora enjoys her rice and chicken.

"Quill is my brother. Peter Quill, remember?" She reminds Bruce and he nods in understanding.

"Like a planet? Like in outer space?" Scott questions curiously whilst devouring his noodles and Rocket turns around, pacing towards him on the table.

"Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything." Rocket says in such a mockingly sweet voice that Aurora scrunches up her face, especially when her friend's hand runs through Scott's hair to pet him like a dog. "Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, little puppy? I'll take you to space."

Scott rolls his eyes and they soon finish lunch, the break is over. While Bruce, Scott, Natasha, Clint, Rhodey and Rocket meet up in the living room to get more information from Nebula about the Soul Stone, Aurora looks for Steve, Tony and Eve and finds them in the conference room, cleaning up the mess they left at lunch.

"Hey, can I talk to you guys for a sec?" She asks and all three look at her with raised brows. "Yeah, to all three of you since you are sort of the leaders of this team."

"Sure, what is it about?" Eve prompts and leans against the table next to Steve.

"Well, you know that Loki and I sort of were a couple and he got dusted, too, and when we undo everything, he will return as well, so could you guys, like, pardon him for his crimes on Terra?" Aurora sends them the happiest and brightest smile that she has to offer and the three share a silent look. None of them are all too fond of the God of Mischief.