Opening Up to Quill

Over the next two days, Shendu deliberately drew closer to Quill.

Not with excessive enthusiasm, but with precisely measured contact.

A few casual words during breaks in training, sitting a little closer at lunch, asking a few extra questions about alien worlds while discussing the characteristics of the wreckage.

He was building a subtle connection.

Not friends, not enemies, but temporary allies.

When training ended on the third day, Quill approached him first.

"You're pretty interesting."

Quill handed him a bottle of cola. "Not like the other Earthlings."

Shendu waved it off. In his current form, drinking cola was inconvenient. "How am I different?"

"You seem to know things."

Quill thought for a moment. "Not the kind you learn from books. Things you've actually lived through. You remind me of some old-timers I met out there. Didn't say much, but every word carried weight."

Shendu lowered his eyes, pretending to be shocked at being seen through. "You're the same. You've seen more in the universe than everyone here put together."

Quill smiled. "Now that's something I like hearing."

They left the laboratory, and night had already fallen.

In the distance, New York's lights flickered in the darkness. The ruins still being cleared and the construction sites being rebuilt formed hazy outlines beneath the night sky.

Quill stood there, looking at the lights, and suddenly fell silent. Shendu could sense that he seemed to be remembering something.

Quill took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "When I left, New York didn't look like this."

Shendu stood beside him without speaking, making it clear that he was listening.

Quill continued, "Back then, I lived in Missouri. Small town, no skyscrapers. My mom..."

He paused. "My mom loved old songs. She played music from the eighties and nineties every day."

Shendu did not interrupt. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

"You should go back and take a look," he said.

Quill turned his head.

"What?"

"Missouri."

Shendu looked at him. "It's been over twenty years. Maybe some things are still there."

Quill was silent for a while.

"Maybe." Quill's voice was soft.

Shendu said nothing more.

He turned and walked toward the waiting vehicle, leaving Quill standing alone there, gazing at the distant city.

Steve was waiting for him in the car.

"Training's over."

Steve handed him a list. "There are still a few cleanup sites that need you to take a look."

Shendu nodded.

As the car started, he glanced through the window at the rearview mirror.

Quill was still standing there, clutching something in his hand.

That pendant.

The Monkey Talisman.

Shendu looked away. No rush. There was still one day left.

The moment Quill decided to return to Missouri, he would have his chance.

The car drove into the night.

Shendu closed his eyes and felt the pull from the Monkey Talisman gradually fade into the distance.

When he returned to the temporary residence, Shendu received a message. Quill had posted something in the cleanup crew group chat:

"Guys, I've decided to stay another week. A friend told me the barbecue in Missouri is good. I've got to try it."

Shendu looked at the message, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

On the morning of the fourth day, sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains of the temporary residence. His communicator vibrated, and Steve posted a notice in the cleanup group:

"Emergency notice: Today's scheduled cleanup mission has been canceled. All personnel remain on standby."

Just as Shendu was wondering why, Steve called.

"Something happened."

Steve sounded tired. "Last night, an unidentified group tried to infiltrate Stark's laboratory. Their target was the remaining Chitauri wreckage samples."

"Tony needs time to reassess the security level. All cleanup missions are suspended today."

Shendu was silent for a moment. "So I'm free today?"

"Theoretically."

Steve paused. "But S.H.I.E.L.D. hopes you can make time to visit a warehouse in Brooklyn. Some wreckage fragments there need a second appraisal."

"Fine." Shendu did not refuse.

The moment he hung up, he noticed that Quill had sent a message in the group chat a few minutes earlier: "So we've got the day off? Anyone want to try an authentic Earth breakfast? My treat."

Several cleanup crew members replied with emojis, but no one actually took him up on it.

Shendu stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the keyboard. This was an opportunity, but he could not seem too eager.

Ten minutes later, Shendu appeared at a small diner near the cleanup crew's temporary base.

He had not contacted Quill. He had merely "happened" to pass by, and "happened" to find that the place looked decent.

The instant he pushed open the door, he saw Quill sitting alone by the window. A plate of fried eggs and bacon lay in front of him, and he held that bottomless cup of cola.

Quill looked up, froze for a moment, then smiled. "Are you stalking me?"

Shendu sat across from him, adjusting his tail behind him so it would not bump into the table or chairs. "I just came looking for breakfast."

"Oh, come on."

Quill pointed his fork at him. "A guy like you, straight out of a legend, doesn't need food at all, right? I didn't see you take a single sip of water during training."

Shendu did not deny it.

The waitress walked over and visibly stiffened when she saw him, but New York had seen plenty of strange things over the past few years. She quickly regained her professional smile.

Shendu casually ordered a glass of water, purely so he would not stand out too much.

"Why are you alone?" he asked.

Quill shrugged. "Those guys all have families. Who wants to eat breakfast with an alien nutcase?"

He paused and looked at Shendu. "You, on the other hand, I figured you'd have a lot to do."

"Today's mission was canceled."

"I know. I got the message too."

Quill stuffed the last piece of bacon into his mouth. "So what are you doing today?"

Shendu looked at him. "There's a warehouse in Brooklyn I need to check out."

"And then?"

"And then... there's no then."

Quill set down his fork and looked at him thoughtfully.

Outside the window, New York's streets were already beginning to bustle.

Pedestrians hurried past, and children occasionally ran along the sidewalk. One child spotted Shendu through the glass, widened his eyes, and tugged at his mother's sleeve. She hurriedly pulled him away.

"You know," Quill suddenly said, "I looked up Missouri last night."

Shendu raised his eyes and looked at Quill thoughtfully.

"My hometown is still there."

Quill sounded somewhat dazed. "I found some photos online. The gas station I used to go to as a kid is somehow still open."

Shendu did not respond. His tail swayed gently.

"I was planning to go take a look today." Quill scratched his head. "But honestly, going back alone... feels kind of weird."

He looked at Shendu, his eyes holding an unspoken expectation.

"Do you want to come with me?"