#groot-climbing-aid

[whitedragoncoranth]

God damn it, I want a completely awesome, over the top, epic first or third-person shooter where we play as Rocket Raccoon and just freakin' TEAR SHIT UP with giant fuck-everything-off guns!

[grootiez]

The Joys of Raising a Teenaged Groot- Chapter 61: Discussion

The next day, Groot had just got done his daily therapy session and had his feeding tube hooked up to his morning formula. Rocket and the other Guardians were bringing the teenager back to his room to relax for a little bit before he had to go to Calina for his speech therapy lesson when Azrik approached them in the hall.

“Hey, can I see you guys in the conference room?” Azrik beseeches the Guardians as Groot whines, clearly tired and in need of a nap before he went to Calina’s office to work on using his speech device.

“Yeah.” Rocket replies as the Guardians follow Groot’s aide to the conference room. “What’s this all about?”

“We’re going to start the process of letting Groot leave here and stay at home on the weekends on a trial basis.” Azrik stated as he held open the door for the Guardians to enter the conference room as Drax pushed Groot inside.

The Guardians took their seats in the big fluffy brown leather rolling chairs and Drax parked Groot in his chair before he took his seat next to him.

“Um, Drax, do you mind if you bring Groot to the middle?” Azrik asks as he gets the Hologram projector ready. “We’re going to be appealing to the insurance company for them to reinstate Groot’s life insurance plan and it would help if they saw him in person.”

Drax gets up and moves Groot to the center as the Guardians moved their chairs to make enough room for the teen. Once they were all settled, Azrik spoke again.

“Now, let me get a representative on the phone and we’ll get started.” Azrik says as he inputs the insurance company’s contact information to get them on the other end. Once he gets through the various prompts and is talking to a real person, her image appears on the hologram.

“Hello, I am Zorthir, and what are we discussing today?” The man introduces himself.

“Hi, Zorthir, I’m Azrik of Bright Horizons Child and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center, and I have a patient in my care here whose insurance policy was canceled and his family and I would like to reinstate it.” Azrik states as Zorthir begins typing on his computer.

“Alright, and what’s the patient’s name?” Zorthir asks as he brings up a database to search.

“His name is Groot.” Azrik answers.

“And what is Groot’s last name?” Zorthir responded as Azrik looks at Rocket.

Rocket panics. Groot hasn’t had the need to have a last name in his entire life. Even when Groot was taken from the Guardians’ custody and placed in an orphanage for a period of time while the dysfunctional family (mainly Rocket) fought their hardest to get Groot back, the sapling was referred to by a random string of letters and numbers rather than by a name. It was only when Rocket gained legal custody of the young Flora Colossus, that Groot was granted his name by the judge.

“Um, well, um...” Rocket was struggling to speak. “Well, um, you see, um-.”

Peter leaned over to the raccoon’s side. “Well, Rocket, isn’t Groot legally your son?”

“Yeah, but-.” Rocket responded as he looked at the humie.

“Well back on Earth, Groot would take up your last name.” Peter explains. “You are his father after all.”

This got Rocket thinking. He nodded as he said “Alright, Quill. I agree.” Rocket states as Zorthir types in the rest of Groot’s immediate information.

“Now, Azrik, I need to ask you a few questions before I’m able to proceed with Groot’s reinstatement.” Zorthir began. “The first one is I don’t have any of Groot’s medical history on file. Do you mind sending me that information?”

“I can and I’m doing that right now.” Azrik replies as he taps on his tablet and sends Groot’s medical information over to Zorthir.

“Okay, and I’m trying to look up Groot’s current insurance plan and it says that he’s deceased.” Zorthir glances at his computer as Rocket holds his emotions in. “Do you know what the story is with that and what’s his prognosis now?”

“Groot came to us from Zanara Trauma Center.” Azrik explains.

“Why did he end up there? That place is where they send the sickest of the sick, people who’ve been in traumatic accidents, or for those who need intensive medical treatments.” Zorthir questions.

“His father, Rocket, can explain what happened that night.” Azrik responds as Zorthir turns his attention towards the raccoon.

Rocket tries to hold back his emotions. Surely reliving and having to retell the worst night of both his and Groot’s lives was not going to be easy for him.

“I, um...” Rocket began, trying to not choke up. “Groot, um, Groot was in a bad mood that night and he went up to his room. Gammy went up to his room five minutes later to check on him and that’s when we discovered that Groot ran away from home by climbing out of his bedroom window. I then went out to look for him.”

The next part was hard for Rocket to talk about. “I-I finally found Groot... But be-before I could get to him...” Rocket choked up. He couldn’t finish the rest of that fateful night.

“It’s alright, Rocket.” Azrik consoles the raccoon as he dries his eyes with a tissue. “I can explain the rest of the story if need be.” He tells Zorthir.

“Go ahead.” Zorthir permits as he gestures.

“Well, Groot sustained multiple stab wounds, as well as a black eye and both of his legs and his left arm being broken as a result of the attack. Groot was in so much pain that by the time that he was done, he had to be put in a medically-induced coma and on life support.”

“Were there any further complications?” Zorthir asks as he wrote down everything that Azrik was telling him.

“Yes, while Groot was being put in the coma, he stopped breathing, going into cardiac arrest, and dying on the table. This all happened twice before he was stabilized.” Azrik stated. “His nurse said that he lost a lot of oxygen and could have suffered irreversible brain damage.”

“And what was his prognosis on that first night?” Zorthir questioned Azrik.

“Groot’s prognosis wasn’t good.” Azrik began. “His injuries were so severe that he wasn’t expected to live through the night. If he did survive, Groot would more than likely be severely brain damaged and bed ridden for the rest of his life, unable to interact with the people he’s around and having to be supported by machines for the rest of his life.”

“What is Groot’s prognosis now?” Zorthir queried.

“Well, as you can see, Groot is able to interact with everyone, he speaks using a speech device, and as you can see, he is not bedridden and can get around using a custom made manual wheelchair.” Azrik stated as Groot smiled.

“About when did Groot get his wheelchair?” Zorthir asked.

“He got it the first day that he started therapy here, so about a couple months ago.” Azrik answered.

“Now, that chair that he’s sitting in, that’s a custom-made one, correct?” Zorthir replied as he looked at his paperwork and Azrik nodded. “Those are expensive because of the modifications needed to make Groot comfortable in it and Groot’s insurance was cancelled when he obtained it because on his policy, he was listed as recently deceased, or else we would have covered the cost of it completely. Now, on the order form it lists a Mr. Peter J. Quill as the holder of the credit card that was used to pay for it-.”

“Wait a second...” Peter growls as he stands up and turns to Rocket, fists clinched. “You said that you paid for Groot’s chair yourself...” The humie was furious now as Rocket turned in his seat to hide a snicker. “Rocket...” The raccoon still couldn’t stop laughing to himself as Peter made him look at his angry face. “You stupid ball of fur and trash, what the HELL are you laughing at?”

“Just an idiot who can’t even keep an eye on his own wallet.” Rocket snickers as Quill reaches over to slap the rodent.

“Boys, boys!” Gamora scolds the two as Rocket hisses at Peter, baring his teeth in a defensive manner. “I’m sorry for their behavior, but these two numbskulls are always bickering like an old married couple.”

“Hey!” Rocket and Peter chimed in at the same time. “No we don’t! I would never-.” They both finish in unison together as they slowly turned to look at each other.

“Shut up, Star-Munch!” Rocket snarls as he leans against his chair’s armrest, ready to pounce on Peter. “Everyone here knows that you waste money on useless junk anyways, so I made you buy something that’ll benefit somebody else than you.” He then looks at Peter to apologize. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked you first before I maxed out your credit card...”

Before Peter could say anything, Zorthir responds. “Since Groot clearly needs his chair to get around, I will approve it getting covered by insurance, which reminds me, Azrik, can you please send me all of his medical records and diagnoses?”

Azrik swipes his finger across the holographic pad in his hands. “Just did.” He says as Zorthir hears a notification ding on his end and he read the files Azrik sent him.

“Alright. I’ll get Groot re-enrolled into our system on his original policy.” Zorthir informs the Guardians. “Luckily, there’s a few things his policy covers the cost on.”

“Like what?” Gamora questions.

“For starters, all of Groot’s daily and specialty medications, as well as his formula would be covered.” Zorthir began. “It also says on his records that he uses a communication device to talk. About how long has he had it?”

“He got it the day before he got his wheelchair, so at least for a few months now.” Azrik replies. “And he’s gotten better and better with using it to communicate.”

“Alright. When I reactivate Groot’s insurance plan, Rocket, since you’re his primary legal guardian and caregiver, you will be reimbursed for the amount of the wheelchair and his talker.” Peter stood up from his seat. “Wait a minute! Rocket stole MY money FROM MY bank account! So shouldn’t it be ME who get reimbursed from the insurance company?!?!”

“I’m sorry, but as he is listed as the only parent or legal guardian, as well as Groot’s primary caregiver, Rocket is the only person entitled to any monetary compensation from Groot’s insurance policy due to his medical needs.” Zorthir explains as Rocket holds one of his paws up to say something.

“Wait a minute.” Rocket interrupts. “Quill, I’m sorry that I haven’t been truthful with ya from the day we first met.” He apologizes as Peter scoffs, knowing that the raccoon is secretly trying to finagle something that Peter would have to pay him back with later. “I’m sorry that I went behind your back and stole your credit card in order to pay for Groot’s chair. I was greedy and didn’t want to pay for it myself. So how about I pay you back the full amount and... here.” The raccoon gets out his holographic currency exchanger and transfers the appropriate amount of Units to Peter.

Peter was dumbfounded by the gesture as he got out his own currency exchanger and saw the Units were in fact back in to his banking account.

“Wow, Rocket, uh, thanks.” Peter’s gratitude is apparent as Rocket just ignores it and shrugs it off.

“Now, back to the situation at hand, are there any further things that need to be discussed?” Zorthir questions.

“Yes, there are a couple of things that we’re looking into for Groot. The first thing is, he’s made tremendous strides in his recovery and we’re thinking about letting him go home for the weekends and come back here for the weekdays so that we can continue his care and various therapies that he needs.” Azrik stated as Groot looked at and smiled at Rocket.

“That would be a good step in his recovery and I’m in agreement with it.” Zorthir then cleared his throat. “But, your house will need to be evaluated and certain modifications made in order for it to be accessible for Groot. Now, we would cover any and all necessary renovations and all of the required equipment, but it’ll need to be inspected by a certified contractor and approved before Groot could go home.”

“Okay, we agree with all of that. Is there anything else that Groot would need when he comes home?” Gamora inquired.

“Yes. Because of Groot’s various conditions, he will need a personal care nurse to take care of him, give him his medications, and monitor his progress over the weekend.” Zorthir explains. “After that, if things improve we can hopefully increase the time that he’s home to a week at a time. I would expect all of you to pay attention to Groot's needs and help out wherever possible.”He implores the Guardians as they all agree.

Zorthir then shuffles the various amounts of paperwork on his desk. “Okay, then. I think that concludes our meeting.” He declares as he begins to stand up as Groot taps Azrik’s shoulder.

“Wait, there’s actually something that we need to mention.” Azrik says as Zorthir sat back down. “A few days ago, Groot got the opportunity to test out and drive a power wheelchair. He did so well with it, we decided that he would be a good candidate to get one of his own, fully customized to his needs.” Azrik explains as he sends over a copy of the order form for the chair in question. “The thing is, Groot would need all of the specialized features like the electric tilt, recline, powered leg rests, and elevated seat in order to be completely comfortable. He would also need things like the attendant control in case he can’t drive the chair himself and one of his family members need to do it for him.”

Zorthir looks at the order form intently. “I see. A customized wheelchair like this isn’t exactly cheap and can run in the range of 30-40 thousand Units. Thankfully, this is the kind of thing that Groot’s newly reactivated insurance plan would cover the complete cost on. So good news, Groot! You’ll be getting your new wheelchair when it’s ready.” He declares as he signed off on the form as excited shouts could be heard coming from Groot as Azrik ended the conference.

After about fifteen more minutes of talking between Azrik and the Guardians, they left the conference room so that Groot could continue on with his day. The excitement couldn’t be contained within Groot as the Guardians made their way back to the teenager’s room for a well-deserved celebration. ———————————————————————————————

@trashpandaorigins @madness-on-the-milano @madcatz6277 @blaketoziers @butterflyinthewell @canuckscot @i-sudoku @janetgenea @lothirielswanmarvel @netbug009 @pineapple-crow @rocket-roquill-raccoon @rocket-ringtail-raccoon @rr4901 @sesshouki @skarabrae-stone @thatcrappypuppy @vic394 @woozletania @whoop-whoop-grocket———————————————————————————————

Read on Ao3.

[shewhohangsoutincemeteries]

jealousy

Rocket Raccoon x Reader

Summary: requests by two anons and dannydevitodevoted. rocket’s insecurities over your relationship come to a head when he sees a guy flirting with you, and only get worse when he finds quill patching you up after a brawl. no one said a relationships were easy.

Characters/Pairings: rocket x reader, peter quill, minor appearances by the other guardians

Warnings: swearing, violence, references to sex (between people)

Word Count: 2,427

MARVEL MASTERLIST

You sidled up to the bar, slipping between two bar stools to rest my elbows on the bar. The Milano had touched down on Xandar a few hours earlier, and while you were there to find new work, you’d all readily agreed that you were overdue for a drink. Or twelve. You’d piled into a booth at some establishment with a name that you couldn’t pronounce, and you were already a few pints down and beginning to feel that wonderfully familiar lightness that came with the first hit of alcohol to your system.

You glanced back at the others, stifling a laugh as you watched Quill and Drax argue over something you couldn’t hear. Gamora sat beside the wildly gesticulating Star Lord, leaning back into her seat and shaking her head in quiet amusement. Rocket climbed up onto the stool beside you, and you reached over to tickle his ear affectionately. He swiped a paw at your hand, shooing your touch away with a gruff laugh. Usually, you were more hesitant when it came to touching him, mindful of his past traumas, but the other Guardians had learnt early on that you tended to be very physically affectionate when drunk, and since the two of you had fallen into the strange relationship you had, Rocket had just accepted it. And even if he was still sometimes shaky with being touched, he rarely left your side.

“Having fun?”

Rocket looked up at you, a smirk playing at the side of his mouth. “They are so easy to get started.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “What did you do?”

“Nothin’ at all,” he shrugged casually, still grinning. “All I did was mention that Drax thinks all Quill’s music sounds the same and they took it from there.”

“You little shit,” you snickered, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t shake you off this time.

“You love it, doll.”

“What can I get ya, gorgeous?” The bartender interrupted, giving you an appraising look as he did. A smile graced his angular features, and you rewarded him with one of your own; partly because you really were in a great mood and partly because Quill had taught you a while ago that letting the bartender flirt with you usually led to free drinks. You had to lean over the bar to speak over the noise the customers, standing on your toes, and his eyes lit up as if you were asking for something much more suggestive than a round for the table. You smirked victoriously when he charged you half the units as it had cost Quill for the last round.

Rocket slammed the units down on the bar, and you looked at him in surprise. His happy expression had turned irritable, and he grabbed one of the bottles we’d been given. He didn’t look at you as he jumped off the stool and headed back for the booth, tossing the lid over his shoulder. Confused, you thanked the bartender and followed after him, tray of drinks in your hands.

***

As the night drew on, your little family abandoned the booth for their own interests; Gamora was at the bar with Groot and Quill, and Drax and Rocket were gambling over some kind of game you didn’t understand and you were leaning against a wall nearby, nursing a beer and watching them. Every now and then when Rocket had a win he’d glance over at you, and you’d shoot him a smile or a wink in response. Whatever issue he’d had at the bar was apparently forgotten.

“Hey,” you dragged your eyes away from the game table to meet the gaze of a Xandarian man. He was tall and somehow both broad-shouldered and unassuming, but he had friendly eyes and a nice smile. Besides, if he tried anything, you had a blaster hidden on your hip under your jacket. “This is gonna sound weird, but aren’t those guys you’re with those hero people… the Guardians or whatever?”

“As long as you don’t call them heroes, it’s fine,” you smirked. “I’ll never hear the damn end of it.”

“Doesn’t that make you one too?”

You shrugged, sipping at your beer. “I prefer the term free-lance ass kicker.”

He laughed. “Can I get you a drink?”

“I already have one.” You held it up pointedly. “But thanks.”

“Can I get your next one?”

“If you haven’t bored me by then,” you said, smirking.

He grinned. “Challenge accepted.”

***

You snickered, alcohol spinning in your head. You’d had a few by now, and you were enjoying yourself. The guy, whose name you’d already forgotten, was still talking, but his stories of work as a trader were actually kind of entertaining. You glanced back at Rocket’s table, giving him a crooked smile when he looked your way; his brow furrowed when the trader touched your arm to regain your attention.

“You okay?”

I nodded, “I’m great.”

“Great.” He grinned, stepping closer to you. You hadn’t realized just how close he hand gotten in the last half hour. “You know, if you want to keep—”

“Hey, Y/N, you ready to get outta here?” Rocket stepped up to the two of you, his tone hard.

“Hey, honey!” You straightened up from your position against the wall, a smile cracking across your face. “Did you win?”

He shrugged, arms folded across his chest. “We goin’ or not?”

You frowned, confused, but nodded. The others were still at the bar, and didn’t look like they were making any kind of move to leave. “Yeah, sure. Just let me—”

“Hey, wait a minute,” the trader stepped forward, and you frowned down at the hand he placed on your arm. “We’re talking here. Who the hell are you?”

“This is Rocket, he’s my—”

“You’re gonna wanna let go of her arm.” Rocket growled, you noticed then that his speech was a little loose, and he’d obviously been drinking as much as you had.

“Yeah, you really are.” You agreed, brow furrowed. You pulled out of his grasp, but the way he stood stopped you from moving away from the wall and towards Rocket.

“You can’t just leave, I bought you a drink, we’re talking and—”

“And she doesn’t owe you shit.”

“Back off, rat, or I’ll—”

Rocket didn’t have a chance to reach for the blaster strapped to his back; your fist met the guy’s nose before he could. You felt it crunch under your knuckles, and he stumbled back into a stool, which broke beneath him as he fell.

“Oh, fuck!” You swore, shaking your hand as pain exploded in your fist. And that was why you carried a damn blaster. “Fuck, that hurt—”

“You stupid bitch,” the trader barked, blood dripping from his chin. He was struggling to get up from the floor, and Rocket snarled, reaching for his gun. “What the fuck—”

“Y/N! Rocket! It’s time to go.” Quill’s voice interrupted you, and you felt a warm hand close around your wrist. The others had converged on you quickly; whether it was your shouting or the sound of furniture breaking that had caught their attention you weren’t sure. Quill had hold of you, his eyes wide with a mix of urgency and concern. “Now.”

“Right after I teach this guy a few manners,” Rocket slurred, and Drax had to tug the gun out of his grasp. He growled quickly turning on the Destroyer, and you whined.

“Rocket…”

“Y/N, we gotta go.” Quill urged, dragging you with him. “The others will get Rocket.”

You let him pull you away as Gamora made a move to calm Rocket down, her hands up in a pacifying gesture. It wasn’t until you were back on board the Milano and in your bunk that Quill released you, and you sunk onto the bed, groaning.

“What the hell were you doing back there?”

“What?” You exclaimed, nursing your hand. “He called Rocket a rat!”

“So, you punched him?”

“Better me with a fist than Rocket with a blaster!”

Quill looked pointedly down at your hand. “You sure about that?”

You followed his gaze; the trader’s blood was drying against your skin, and you could already see the purple blush of bruises blossoming across your knuckles. “Damn it, that fucking hurts.”

“No shit, you idiot!” Quill eye-rolled. “Now, wait here.”

He returned a few minutes later with the first aid kit and a damp rag. He sat on the bunk beside you, taking your hand gently in both his own. “Jesus, how hard did you hit him?”

You shrugged, hissing slightly as he pressed the rag to your knuckles, cleaning away the blood. “I think I broke his nose.”

“Yeah, and your hand.” He replied, shaking his head. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know.” You said, watching him work. “Rocket was being weird all night. Every time I talked with someone he got all moody. Then he said he wanted to go, and I said okay, and that guy went all creepazoid on us and I just…” you huffed. “”s weird. And I’m too drunk for weird.”

“You’re dating a raccoon, my girl is green and there’s a tiny tree walking around this ship. This space ship. Weird is what we do,” Quill’s brow furrowed as he worked on removing the blood that had dripped between your fingers without moving your hand too much. “Still, never seen you throw down like that before,” he teased. “It was kinda hot.”

You giggled. You and Quill had developed a friendly bond pretty fast once you’d joined the crew, and while you could appreciate the fact that he was most definitely attractive, he clearly had feelings for Gamora, and you were happy just being his friend. Besides, you had Rocket. Why would you want Quill?

“You freak.”

“Bet your boy thought so too,” Quill continued, wrapping your hand in a bandage. You rested your head on his shoulder; you could still feel it spinning a little.

“Pfft,” you waved your free hand.

“I’m serious.”

“When is Star Lord ever serious?”

“Fair point,” he chuckled, and you laughed along with him. You looked up when the door slid open, surprised to see Rocket back so soon. You felt for sure Gamora was going to have to knock him out to get him back. Quill smiled at him as he secured your bandage in place. “Hey, man.”

“Rocket, honey, are you—”

Rocket scoffed, turning and stalking off down the hall again.

“Wha— Rocket!” You stood, good hand steadying you against the wall as the room spun slightly. “Come back!”

You followed him to the cockpit, where he sat in his usual chair, staring angrily out the window. You noticed he had another open bottle in his hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?!” He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. He still didn’t look at you. “Why are you here?”

You frowned. “I live here.”

“No. Why are you here. With me?” he gulped down a few mouthfuls, despite the fact that it had to be burning his throat. “You had your pick of ‘em tonight. Even had Quill lining up for a piece.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You and Quill! You and that asshole at the bar,” he laughed drunkenly. “You and the bartender! Take your damn pick!”

“Rocket, I don’t—”

“Why are you wastin’ you time with me?” He shouted, and you recoiled in shock. “You pity me, is that it? You feel bad for the freak?! I’m not your fuckin’ charity case!”

“Rocket, what the fuck are you talking about? You’re not a freak.”

“Just fuck off, alright?”

“No,” you said stubbornly, setting your jaw. “Not until you look at me and tell me what the fuck is going on.”

He growled almost reflexively, and you watched him pull at his fur in frustration.

“What the hell were you talking about? What does Quill or anyone else have to do with anything?”

“’Cause you fit with them!” he snarled, finally turning around. “You… you could have something normal with them, not with some… monster like me!”

“Rocket…” you stumbled slightly as you stepped forward. “You’re overreacting—”

“’Overracting’?! Me?! Probably!” He laughed, coughing. When he spoke, his voice sounded thick, like there was something lodged in his throat. “Look at me, Y/N. I’m not like you. Not like Quill. You—”

“Why do you keep bringing up Quill?”

“Because he’s just like you!” He shouted, waving a paw towards the door. “You and him, you’re the same, and you were in the bunk and you’re—”

“Just friends.” You told him. “Is that what this is about? You think Quill and I…? Rocket, there’s nothing between me and Quill. He’s my friend. He’s your friend. Do you really think we would do that to you?”

“You should.” He muttered, tears catching in his throat. “You should be with someone you can actually… be with. We-we can’t…”

“Rocket.” You spoke slowly, moving to kneel in front of him. “Is this about the fact that we can’t have… sex?”

He raised an eyebrow at you, his expression almost tired. “Quill—”

“I’m not Quill.”

“You’re Terran.”

“So?” you laughed. “Not every Terran is as sex obsessed as Quill is. Rocket, I’m not an idiot. And I’m not blind. I know what we’ve got isn’t exactly… of the ordinary…”

He scoffed, hiccoughing slightly.

“…But I know how I feel. And I don’t need whatever it is you think I do to be happy. I already am. I’ve had some really shitty experiences in my life. And not a single one of my relationships fell apart because we were or weren’t having sex. And if that was something I wanted, then I would deal with that. Without inviting someone into my bed.”

“You should be with—”

“I should be with whoever I fucking want to be.” You interrupted him firmly, your voice softening. “And I want to be with you. Okay?”

He inhaled, breath shaking as he nodded. You smiled, gently and carefully cupping his face in your hands. You rubbed a thumb against the fur of his cheek.

“Good.” You leaned up to press a kiss between his eyes. You stood, holding out your arms to him. “Come back to the bunk?”

He smiled, climbing up your torso as you gathered him up in your arms. He buried his head in your neck, nuzzling into your collarbone affectionately. You giggled at the sensation, rolling your eyes.

“You know you’re a big softie, right?”

“Shut up.”

.

.

.

If you want to be tagged in any of my upcoming fics, send me an ask and let me know what characters you’re interested in. Characters available are listed here.

[woozletania]

A merry frickin’ Grootmas, day 13 - chestnuts on an open fire

The zargnut exploded, sending shards of flaming shell and droplets of boiling hot oil in all directions.  

“Crap, crap, crap!” Star-Lord beat his hand against his leg to put out a spark that stuck to his skin.  Rocket's cackle of glee was cut short when we realized that his tail was smoldering.  It failed to burst into flame only because Gamora poured her drink over it where he sat. He still jumped to his feet, cursing up a storm, and the smell of burnt hair filled the room.

“You did this, didn't you?” Peter pointed a finger at Rocket where the raccoon stood clutching his singed tail. Drax reached out from the couch and stroked Rocket's ears, which would have provoked a snap of the raccoon's sharp teeth back before Rocket admitted that he liked being petted.

“Oh, he gets petted and I -, oh, thanks Mantis.”  Peter shut up in mid-sentence as the insectile alien passed over a tube of burn cream from the first aid kit.

“I did what?” Rocket snapped, but wilted when Lylla shot him a look. “I didn't do anything, Pete.  If I'd wanted the zargnut to explode I would have used something that made pretty colors.”

Star-Lord sighed.  They'd rigged up a little “real” fireplace to replace the holographic one and could even burn wood now, albeit in small quantities.  But both their attempts so far to “Roast chestnuts on an open fire” had ended with the zargnut exploding.

“Yeah, I know.  This is my fault, guys.  You know how young I was when Yondu and company grabbed me.  Some of these traditions I only know from songs.  Hell, some I learned from the books that didn't get vandalized.” He shot a half-serious glare at Rocket.  “I don't even know what a chestnut looks like, much less what it tastes like or whether anybody actually roasted them.  I didn't expect the zargnuts to explode, though.”

“I am Groot,” said the teenage tree sitting between Drax and Mantis. He held up a hand and concentrated as a bud formed at the tip of his finger. Rocket was there in an instant, his hurt tail forgotten as he grabbed his son's hand.

“No Groot, don't.  Growing fruit is a big effort for you and nuts are gonna be the same. You're still growing.  Maybe next year, if we do this all again.”

“I am Groot,” the tree grumped, but he absorbed the bud back into himself and picked up his game slate again.  Rocket had given him his early Christmas present when they found the games in the market on Black Friday.

“Don't worry, Peter,” Gamora said.  “The important thing is you tried.  We're all together as a family, that's the main thing, right?”

“Got that right.”  Rocket climbed up into the chair with Lylla, the two Uplifts fitting easily into a seat that would be narrow for one Drax butt.  “We still have Christmas cookies from last night, and I can make some more popcorn.”

“I approve of popcorn,” rumbled Drax.  “Particularly the chocolate type.”

“We could roast marshmallows,” Peter said.  “If we had marshmallows.”

“There's a little hot chocolate left,” Mantis chimed in.  Everyone perked up at that.

“Hot chocolate and popcorn,” Star-Lord said.  “Will have to do.”

And cookies, of course.  Mustn't forget the cookies.

[akiradrabbles]

Cold Skin ch. 1

Chapters: 1/?

Warnings: slight violence and strong language

Note: Remember that I am open for requests at this time!

------

The cell was cold.

Which, of course, made Peter cold. Any warmth in his skin had long seeped out, leaving his body cold and clammy and his limbs to twitch and shiver pathetically. His hands were bound to the walls with ice cold chains and his thighs were tied together so that he was stuck in a kneeling position. A dull pain coursed through his veins, his arm bent unnaturally at the elbow and his bone poking out at the break. He was desperately attempting to avoid thinking of the injury, for his breath was already coming out in ragged gasps that hurt his lungs.

Blood was trickling down his face from a large gash that was on top of a large protuberance that had proven excruciatingly painful. Peter knew that he had been thrown harshly against a metal wall, and when he fell he had fallen headfirst. He could practically feel the concussion that was banging against his skull uncomfortably. The ringing in his ears hadn’t ceased since the explosion, and he cursed the fact that he couldn’t do anything about it.

Peter groaned and tried to push himself up further into a more comfortable position, but a sharp pain in his side stopped him in his tracks. He craned his neck towards the source, and bit back a whimper. At some point in the battle, of which he only remembered bits and pieces and small fragments, a bullet - an honest to god physical bullet - was shot from an unknown enemy towards Gamora. And Gamora would have been able to take it easily, she was a badass alien, yet Peter stupidly jumped in front of the incoming piece of metallic material and let it rip through his side. It hadn’t gone through all the way, just his luck, and was lodged somewhere near his left kidney.

He groaned and leaned back so that his back was flush with the wall. It was cold still, yes, but atleast he could attempt to rest for a few moments before he began to plan his escape. A breath escaped his lips, and it made a puff of smoke appear in the air. The ringing in his ear had stopped, thank god, but what was replaced was silence. He couldn’t hear anything, save his breaths and the rattling of the chains.

Peter stared forward intently at the wall in front of him. Or, atleast what he assumed was a wall. It was too dark to tell, and he knew his vision wasn’t a reliable source right now - darkness or not.

A deafening bang startled him from the daze he hadn’t even realized he was in. Sitting up, Peter looked around as best he could while attempting to swallow the hiss of pain that threatened to leave. The door opposite where he sat swung open, and he tried not to wince at all the sound that came in like an unexpected wave of water. There were different yells and sounds that were coming through, and it took Peter all but a few moments to realize why he hadn’t previously heard any of this - a sound proofed room. He wouldn’t be able to hear anything from then on but his breath and whatever noise he could make himself.

Two aliens entered - creatures with rough skin covered in scales and large tails that were thick with muscle and that waved back and forth. They had naturally bloodshot eyes and snot-covered noses that came off of long snouts and mouths filled with jagged teeth that looked like pieces of glass that were haphazardly thrown in. Peter realized that they reminded him closely of humanoid alligators.

The first alien threw his claw-clad hands towards Peter and the second alien surged forward. Peter pushed himself up as far as he could without crying out to seem more intimidating. “Back off, big guy.” He hissed through clenched teeth.

The alien overpowered him and gripped his shoulder harshly. Pain coursed down his bad arm and Peter groaned. “Watch it, a-hole,”

“Peter Quill of Terra,” the first alien growled- and god, did his voice sound ugly. It was as if he was choking on large stones and spitting out mangled chainsaw noises. “You are declared, by the highest order of Algathor and by Lord Ticherich, a prisoner of war. You will be sentenced with the harshest form of punishment we can give.”

“Hold on,” and if Peter’s voice was cut up by the chattering, no one said anything, “I don’t think-“

“You are to spend a week in solitary confinement and then be executed by Gaop.”

“What the hell is-?”

“Public execution,” the creature clarified, “a Gaop is an animal.”

“Oh-“

“We will come for you in a weeks time. Until then, you are permitted to stay here.” The alien that was gripping his shoulder pulled something out of his jacket pocket. He gripped Peter’s jaw and the ripped it open with ease. He shoved the metallic part of the device into Peter’s mouth and clicked in around the back of his head, effectively gagging him. Peter struggled against him, but without the use of his hands, trying to push it out with just his tongue was impossible. The first time he did, a sharp jab from the metallic part pierced his tongue and he twitched in pain. The alien then continued, pulling out a case and opening it. Inside, there were two small balls made of an unknown material, that of which were both shoved into his ears. He could see the alien's mouth moving but no sound came through to him. Peter growled low in his throat, but even that was met with deaf ears, although he knew that noise must have been coming out, considering the vibrations that shook his throat. Lastly, a cold, metal blindfold was placed over his eyes, his vision blocked out completely. Peter supposed that it was lucky that they didn’t decide to just gouge his eyes out.

He felt the grip of the alien loosen and then fade away completely. He didn’t know if they had left or not, but after hours of nothingness he found that he didn’t care much anymore if they had or hadn’t.

He closed his eyes, not that he needed to, and drifted off.

—————

“We shouldn’t have left,” Gamora paced back and forth, shaking her head and clenching and unclenching her fists. “Turn back now, Rocket.”

“And how in the hell are you expecting me to do that? They’re expecting us to come for Quill, and unless we’re planning on blowing up the whole place, with Petey in it, then I’d just wait until we get a plan together.” Rocket bristled in a way Gamora had not yet seen before. Yes, Rocket was one to get irritated easily - snap at other even easier - yet his not-so-subtle irritation was, if Gamora could even say this, gentler in its tone.

“I am Groot.”

“Yes,” Rocket ran a paw through the fur upon his head, “Yes, Groot. Let’s just go to Nova Prime. She’d love to help us,”

“She would?” Drax questioned, “If she would, then we should definitely go to her-“

“No, Drax,” Rocket spat, “Nova Prime isn’t going to want to help us. We got the artifact she wants, that’ll be all that she cares about.” The raccoon climbs up onto the pilot chair and falls silent.

Gamora paused for a moment, thinking; the gears of her mind working tirelessly. She walked towards the control panel in front of Rocket, pressing a few of the buttons down and then stepping back to stare out the main window.

“What are you-” Rocket sat up in the seat, leaning forward as to see what Gamora had done.

“Why wouldn’t Nova Prime aid us? She is the one who sent us there, anyways. One of our team members, our leader, the Star-Lord, is gone.” She barely glanced at Rocket before turning her attention back to the deep voids of space, starlight shining brightly in her eyes.

“He’s an intergalactic hero…” Rocket muttered and turned towards Groot.

“I am Groot,” The small tree exclaimed.

Drax merely glanced at them, “Nova Prime will aid us in rescuing Quill?”

Gamora let a thin smile grace her lips, “She must,” a pause, “The people of Xandar worship Peter, and if she doesn’t she could very well have an uprising on her hands. I have no doubt in my mind that she will.” There was a heavy pause that weighed in the room, the only sound is of Gamora tapping her fingers on the control panel.

Rocket sighed deeply, “Ya’ know,” he smirked and jumped so that he was in Gamora’s line of sight. “That planet has an army; bigger than we’ve ever dealt with. Way larger than anything Xandar has, either. They’re gonna expect us when we come, so we’re gonna need more than what Xandar will offer us.”

“What are you implying?” Gamora questioned, her eyes never leaving the board in front of her.

“I’ve got someone I can call. I’m sure that he’ll be more than happy to help out.”

————

Peter awoke as his body was racked with another shiver. His mind was clouded with instantaneous confusion, and his breath came out hard against the gag, but no noise slipped through.

Angered, he swung his head backwards to bang it against the wall, and immediately regretted it. A dizzy spell swept over him like a blanket and he groaned; a soundless action that vibrated within his throat.

The panic from before had long since dissolved, leaving him feeling empty, yet angry, and extremely cold. The coldness just wouldn’t leave; he was stuck in an endless cycle of freezing skin and numbness.

He glanced up at the chains that were pulling his hands upwards, fixed to hoops that were bolted to the ceiling. The chains were metal, as was much of the room, so why weren’t they freezing? Was it cold enough for them to freeze yet? It had to be! Maybe, just maybe, if he waited just a little longer, he’d be able to snap the chains when a thick sheet of ice would make its way around rusted metal.

Maybe he’d be able to open up the door himself, or wait for a guard to make their rounds to give him water and then ambush them. It was dark in this room, less so to him since he had just began to get used to it, so he would have the advantage!

Maybe he’d be able to steal a communication device and contact his team; send them coordinates on this planet so that they could pick him up. Certainly they would try to save him, he was their leader, wasn’t he?

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

He was running on a lot of ‘maybes’ at this point.

But he was a man of twelve percent plans, and maybes were his thing.

Sometimes a maybe makes more impact than any sort of full proof plan.

Or, at least he hoped.

———

“My lord,” they alien creature kneeled on the floor, head bowed, “We have located the artifact.”

“And why haven’t you retrieved it, yet?” Lord Ticherich was a large, alligator-like creature, talons the size of swords and teeth like jagged rocks. His voice sounded similarly like rocks and gravel crushed in his throat.

“The Guardians have taken it to Xandar to deliver it to Nova Prime. We are waiting for your orders on the matter, my Lord,”

Lord Ticherich was silent for a few seconds, the gears in his mind turning, “We cannot risk men to raid Xandar; not with the Guardians there. Xandar may be smaller than us but their technology is quite advanced,” He took another pause, “However,” his lips curled into a grin, “by using Peter Quill, we could present to them a trade. The artifact in exchange for Star Lord. And if they refuse to negotiate, we kill him. In front of a live audience using a video that we will broadcast across the galaxy. The weaker the Guardians seem the better.”

“When shall we commence, my lord?”

“Daybreak. I want all systems to support the chambers and defense. This must not fail, General Zao. It is of utmost importance. If we let our prisoner slip through our grasp, then we will have little to no chance of regaining the artifact.” Ticherich turned on his heels to look out the window at the city below.

“It is understood, my lord,” zao let a sharp tooth filled smirk stretch across his snout. He stood from his kneeled position and saluted his leader. Without a second thought, he turned around and led himself towards the doors that loomed over his head like arches.

Tomorrow would be a new change for the Galaxy.

Tomorrow would be the end of Peter Quill.

[bowandarrowgirl]

A Warrior Does Not Die

(read it on ao3)

It was a simple mission and they had completed it with a quick 'meet the client and receive the profit'. Unfortunately, they didn't return to the Milano unscathed. 

Starmora Week 2017, Day 5: Hurt/Comfort

It was a simple mission and they had completed it with a quick 'meet the client and receive the profit'. Unfortunately, they didn't return to the Milano unscathed. As they were waiting for their units to be transferred over, Groot had gotten bored and decided to wander around the grungy building they were in. Even though he was still a 'toddler', it was a bad move.

Their clients weren't particularly friendly and hid secrets of their own. Through one of the doors, the small sapling had found a room filled with illegal explosives and weapons. Running back to the team with wide eyes, he tried to warn Rocket of his findings, but was shrugged off with a small, "Not now, Groot".

The little tree started to panic and climbed up onto Gamora's shoulder, gripping onto her hair. "I am Groot! I am Groot!" He pointed to the door he returned from as her soft, brown eyes followed his small finger.

"What's wrong?" She whispered. "Did you find something?" Luckily, she wasn't standing next to Peter as usual. Instead, she was next to Mantis-the furthest back from the group of A'askavarii. She cautiously snuck away from them and followed Groot as he leaped to the floor and started to run towards the door. "Oh, my God." Sure enough, she was just as shocked as Groot.

"YOU! YOU NOT BE HERE!" One of the A'askavariian men shouted in a foreign accent, catching her in her tracks. Gamora spotted him in her peripheral vision. In the span of a second, she unsheathed her Godslayer and thrust it into his chest.

Suddenly, a dozen more A'askavarii started charging towards them. "GROOT! GO BY THE OTHERS!" The young sapling nodded sadly and sprinted towards the direction of the others. Gamora activated her com. "PETER!"

'THEY HAVE A ROOM FULL OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES! GET EVERYONE OUT, NOW!' The main A'askavariian man looked at Peter suspiciously, overhearing Gamora's distressed voice through his com. Before he could do anything, Peter quickly whipped out his blaster and shot him in the chest.

He turned to the rest of the Guardians. "Mantis, get Groot back to the ship-start it up and wait for further instructions." The bug-lady nodded, picking up Groot and running out the door. "Rocket, I need you to find that room and make sure none of these douchebags get inside." The raccoon started heading towards it with a large smirk until Peter added, "Do not take anything! They're illegal for a reason".

"Yeah, yeah...you just suck the joy outta everything, don't ya'?" He scowled with his ears drooping.

Peter rolled his eyes and turned to Drax. "Drax, buddy? You ready to kick some ass?" The tattooed man gave him a devious smile before letting out a boisterous laugh and charging at the men with both daggers in hand. All Peter could do was shake his head with raised eyebrows. "Just another typical day."

Gamora turned her head slightly to see Peter and Drax catching up to her. "Well, it took you two long enough." She pulled her sword out of one of the men, before thrusting it at another.

"I'm sorry!" Her leader whined half-jokingly, shooting one in the abdomen. "I wanted to make sure Rocket knew he wasn't going to steal anything."

"Knowing our foolish furry companion, he will not listen to your wise words." Drax smashed two of the men's heads together before nodding in satisfaction.

'HEY! I HEARD THAT!' Rocket's voice echoed through their coms.

The trio chuckled a little before attacking more men. "Zip it, Trash Panda! You're supposed to be guarding that room!"

'AND STOP WITH THE NAME GAME!'

'Um, Peter...'

"Sup', Mantis?" He answered, shooting another A'askavariian in the chest.

'We have a problem...I have reached the ship and activated it. I had to sit Groot on a chair, but once I turned around, he was gone. I have looked everywhere on the ship! He is not here!' Her voice started breaking. The trio looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Listen, Mantis, it's okay. Keep searching the ship. If anything, he probably came back inside to find Gamora. We'll search for him in here." He tried to console her, but she still sounded upset as she turned off her com.

"Peter, you stay here and help Drax take them out." She stabbed another before running in the direction of the entrance. Peter followed her from behind.

"No, I'm coming with you."

Gamora glared at him, making sure to keep her guard up. "I can take care of myself. There are too many of them for you to try and be heroic." She turned around and stopped in her tracks. "Behind you." Peter whipped out his blaster and shot one of the men following them. "Help Drax!"

Sure enough, Groot was near the entrance, looking around in curiosity. Gamora sighed in relief. However, her expression faded once she saw a man aiming a blaster at the small tree. "GROOT! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She yelled as she charged towards the man with her sword.

Oblivious to the danger he was in, Groot ignored her warning and waved at her with an innocent smile. He pouted and plopped on the floor with his arms crossed when she didn't wave back. After she made sure the A'askavariian was dead, she ran over to Groot. He looked up at her with furrowed brows.

"I'm sorry I didn't wave back, but you were in danger. Are you hurt?" Groot shook his head, tears welling in his eyes.

The two were so focused on making sure the other was okay that they didn't realize another blaster being aimed at them. It was too late when Gamora felt a sharp pain coming from her shoulder. She fell to the ground, dropping her Godslayer and groaning in severe pain. Groot yelled in rage and charged towards the man. The A'askavariian picked him up with a tentacle and threw him forcefully against a crate, knocking him unconscious. He kicked the sword to the side and wrapped another tentacle around Gamora's neck, pulling her up to his level. She couldn't breathe and it didn't help that she was losing a lot of blood. Even though it was painful, her arms desperately-and weakly-tried to pull away the tentacle choking her.

The man's lips curved up, showing his razor-sharp teeth. "Aren't you pretty one? Daughter of Thanos. Guardian of Galaxy. Mother of...twig?" He looked at the unconscious Groot in confusion before turning back to face Gamora. "You and friends may have killed mine, but I kill you." He dragged the blaster up the her abdomen and shot her again. Her eyes grew wide, feeling the unbearable pain escaping both wounds. He dropped her to the ground, chuckling as he watched her cough up blood. With shaking hands, she felt the wound on her stomach and flinched.

The chuckling in the room quickly subsided when a single man with two blasters, starting shooting him in pure rage. Gamora's sight became distorted and her ears started ringing, but she weakly smiled when she heard a scream escape the man's voice. She heard loud footsteps approaching her. A blurry figure came into her view. She couldn't make out his face, but she knew he was familiar. For a few seconds, she was able to see his face, from his glassy hazel eyes to the few cuts and bruises covering his face. "Pet'r?" She rasped. He moved out of her view. Wait, did he leave? Her mind flooded with relief, but also throbbed with unbearable pain as she felt him wrap some thing tightly around her wounds. When he gently lifted her head onto his lap, she couldn't help, but to try and cup his cheek. She flinched at the movement and let out a small whine as Peter gently pushed it back down.

"Hey, hey, hey-don't do that. It's gonna make it worse. But, you're gonna be okay, okay?" His voice was breaking and it was also breaking Gamora's heart. "DRAX! ROCKET! HURRY!" A tear slid down his cheek and fell onto the beautiful face below him. Smiling, the woman started to close her eyes. "No, no, no-babe, you have to stay awake, okay? Please, stay awake."

After killing the last few and contacting the Nova Corps, Rocket and Drax ran to the entrance. They both looked at the scene in shock. While Peter gently and swiftly swept Gamora into his arms, Rocket ran over to an unconscious Groot and did the same.

'MANTIS! CLEAR OFF THE TABLE AND GET THE MEDICAL KIT!' Mantis jumped at the sound of Peter's desperate voice.

"Oh, no." She whispered to herself. "Someone is hurt." Running and almost falling several times to the common area, she finally reached the table and swept everything off. She ran to the bathroom, grabbed the first-aid kit and started unpacking everything inside of it.

The rest of the group returned with worried expressions. Without a single greeting to Mantis, Rocket handed Groot to Drax before scrambling up to the cockpit. Peter laid Gamora gently on the table, stripping her of her clothes and the make-shift bandages he made with the fabric of his shirt.

"What happened?" The bug-lady asked with wide eyes, watching Peter quickly get to work.

"Gamora got shot by one of those imbeciles and Groot was knocked unconscious. I believe the same man was the one who hurt Groot." He handed Groot off to the woman next to him. "Bring him to the cockpit. He does not need to awaken to this." Mantis nodded and ran up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Peter hooked Gamora up to a portable heart monitor. Her pulse was weak, but was still there. She started bleeding severely again from her abdomen. Her shoulder looked grazed, but wasn't nearly as bad as the wound on her stomach. He called Drax over and instructed him to keep pressure on the bleeding wound as he patched it up. "ROCKET? HOW LONG UNTIL THE NEAREST HOSPITAL?!"

'T-minus eighty-three minutes!'

"Shit." Peter whispered.

After Gamora was all cleaned up and bandaged, Peter didn't leave her side. The rest of the team understood why and were extra sympathetic towards him. Rocket had even connected the Zune to the ship's coms, trying to ease the anxiety everyone was feeling. However, Peter wasn't focusing on the music at all; he was focusing on the quiet beeps coming from the heart monitor and hated it. The last time he heard the sounds of a heart monitor, his mother di-

That was when her heart rate started spiking before it flat-lined. Peter's eyes grew wide. He immediately flew out of his chair, beginning chest compressions. "Gamora, don't leave me, babe-don't leave me." Drax jumped down from the cockpit, not even bothering the use the stairs. He rushed over to Peter's side exchanging a look with him. "Warriors don't die, Gamora." Peter shifted a little, so Drax could set up the defibrillator. He stuck an adhesive pad on her right precordium and another under her left.

"Clear!" Drax shouted as Peter removed his hands. He watched Gamora's body jolt before turning to look at the monitor...it was still flat-lined. Peter started compressions again. A minute had gone by and Gamora finally regained a pulse. The two sighed in relief. "She is a fighter. I can assure you, if anyone would survive a wound that severe, it would be Gamora." Peter nodded, sitting back down on the chair and trying to catch his breath.

A week had gone by since they had arrived at the hospital and somehow, they were able to save the green woman. She remained unconscious with tubes in her nose and an I.V. stuck in her arm. However, the team started to worry more about Peter than Gamora. He hadn't left her side since she got out of surgery. They tried to get him to leave for longer than five minutes, but he wouldn't budge.

Her eyes finally started to flutter open late one night. When she noticed Peter's head lying on her lap, a smile tugged at her lips. She slowly reached her good arm towards him and started raking her fingers through his curls. He shifted a little, picking his head up enough to look at her as she took her hand away. His eyes widened at her soft smile.

Gamora's eyes started welling up when she caught a single tear sliding down his cheek. Without a word, Peter gingerly climbed in next to her, grabbing her other hand and intertwining their fingers. He gingerly dug his head into the crook of her neck and started softly sobbing into her hair. Finally allowing her walls to fall, tears started streaming down Gamora's face as she began to lightly grip Peter's curls with her free hand.

"I'm so sorry, Gamora. I shouldn't have listened to you. I should've come-"

The green woman shook her head as he spoke. "No, it's not your fault." She interrupted, unaware of her voice breaking. "I shouldn't have let my guard down." Peter planted his shaking lips onto her temple. "I've been trained most of my life to always watch my back. It became a habit. I don't understand how I could've been so foolish, especially in the middle of a battle."

They both ran out of tears at that moment. Peter wrapped his free arm around Gamora and carefully pulled her closer, trying to avoid her from moving too much. He started thumbing her shoulder as she leaned her head against his chest. "Why did you let your guard down?"

"When I found Groot, one of the A'askavarii held him at gunpoint. I told him to move out of the way, but he was so focused on trying to wave at me that he was oblivious to the blaster being pointed at him." She took a shaky deep breath and nuzzled further into Peter. "So, I killed the A'askavariian before he could pull the trigger. Groot was upset because he thought I was ignoring him. I let my guard down, trying to explain to him why I didn't wave back and making sure he wasn't hurt. I heard the blaster go off nearby and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor with an excruciating pain coming from my shoulder."

Peter smiled a little. "You weren't foolish. I would've probably done the same." He gently nudged her. "I told you a warrior doesn't die." The corners of Gamora's lips started to twitch up as she let herself fall asleep in Peter's arms.

[ianfaulkner1-blog]

By Roxanne Reid The stories of Africa’s trees are also tales of its people and animals, from Herman Charles Bosman’s withaak to Rudyard Kipling’s Limpopo fever tree. Think baobabs that are 6 000 years old or marula trees long believed to have elephants stumbling away drunk. In these 10 stories about trees in Africa let’s root out the fables, facts and fictions about some remarkable African trees.

​1. Baobab bar The Sunland baobab in Limpopo is one of the world’s widest; about 30 people could join hands around its trunk. Radio carbon dating suggests parts of it are more than 1700 years old. Old baobabs become hollow and in 1993 Doug and Heather van Heerden, who own the farm where it stands, cleared out the compost build-up in the hollow. They discovered Bushman artefacts and tools that Voortrekkers used to fix their ox wagons. They turned the hollow space into a pub complete with door, railway sleeper bar and draft beer. ‘We’ve had 60 people inside the pub at once,’ says Heather, ‘but a big branch broke so now it’s open plan.’ In April 2017 another part of the trunk collapsed, though the oldest wood is still standing. ‘We’re hoping the broken trunk will start to grow again.’ Where: Sunland Farm, Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo. Sadly, as of May 2019 it is no longer open to the public. Factfile: Baobabs flower on spring nights and bats pollinate them.

2. Circles in a forest If you visit the indigenous Knysna forests on South Africa’s Garden Route you’ll understand what inspired Dalene Matthee’s book Circles in a Forest. Ahead of his time, her character Saul Barnard worries about the forest’s survival and the exploitative greed of timber merchants. Matthee died in 2005 and her ashes were scattered at a monument near an 880-year-old Outeniqua yellowwood. The tree towers above the canopy and Saul would be pleased to know it is now protected as a Champion Tree, which may not be damaged in any way. Walk one of the ‘Circles in a Forest’ trails nearby to immerse yourself in the forest atmosphere. Where: Krisjan se Nek picnic site, Goudveld Forest, Knysna. Factfile: Outeniqua yellowwood is South Africa’s tallest species, reaching up to 60m. In the past, the trees were used for ship’s masts. 3. Wonder tree The Wonderboom is a 1000-year-old giant wild fig. Over time its branches drooped to the ground and took root to form a circle of 13 daughter trunks – something not typical of the species. Voortrekkers rested under it in the 1830s. In her 1882 book In the Land of Misfortune Lady Florence Dixie noted that more than 22 ox-wagons and hundreds of people could shelter under it. The mother tree suffered some damage in the early 1900s when people dug holes looking for the Kruger millions. Today its crown is the largest of any South African tree – about half the length of a rugby field. It has been declared a Champion Tree in a Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries project that protects notable trees. Where: Wonderboom Nature Reserve, Pretoria. Factfile: Local legend claims it’s so huge because a tribal chief is buried under it. The summer fruits turn yellowish-pink when ripe. 4. Safe house poplar A skinny Lombardy poplar outside the safe house belonging to Ruth Fischer Rice was a beacon of hope for people on the run during apartheid. Ruth’s father, activist Bram Fischer, led the legal team that defended Nelson Mandela and his co-defendants during the 1963/4 Rivonia Trial. Although the prosecution wanted the death penalty, the team secured a sentence of life in prison. This changed the course of history, allowing Mandela to become South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994. ‘The people who stayed with us were mainly young men and a few young women referred to us by people we knew,’ Ruth remembers. ‘Some stayed for several months. There was surveillance but we were never raided. A storm-water drain ran from our street to the neighbouring [Johannesburg] Country Club, through which our son could lead anyone who needed to escape.’  ​Where: Corner of Lothbury and Fawley avenues, Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Factfile: The poplar tree is a fast-growing alien that sends out suckers – even from the stump after it is cut down.

5. Spring glory Zimbabwe’s musasa trees (also known as igonde, msasa and mutsatsa) drop their leaves in winter. Then, for just three weeks each September, the new leaves create a blaze of colour before they turn green for summer. ‘They are a variety of tones from palest blush to burnt orange and burgundy, with gold and reds in between,’ says artist Lin Barrie, who completed a series of paintings inspired by this spring colour. ‘Musasas were part of my early bush experiences, with branches to climb on, colour to marvel at and carpets of flowers and mushrooms beneath. My father was a keen walker and birder and as a child I often went with him on excursions to the musasas. They were the backdrop for birds like spotted creepers, owls and pennant-winged nightjars.’ Lin’s oils and acrylics of natural scenes are in collections around the world. Where: Mukuvisi Woodlands in Harare, Zimbabwe, in September. You can see permanent displays of Lin Barrie’s art at her studio in Borrowdale Brooke Estate, Harare, or at the Cape Gallery in Church Street, Cape Town. Factfile: The orange caterpillars of the musasa moth appear in masses in March to feed on the trees. 6. The lion fig ‘Just north of Busanga Bush Camp in Zambia’s Kafue National Park lies an enormous sycamore fig tree on elevated ground,’ says safari guide Isaac Kalio. ‘The local tree-climbing Busanga lion pride likes to rest in the horizontal branches, so although it’s a beautiful picnic spot you first have to check who’s there! It produces four fruit crops a year that attract many animals. Tiny wasps breed inside the fruit and are in charge of pollination. The sycamore fig has been incorporated into Zambian teaching about HIV/AIDS because just as you can’t tell by looking at the outside of the fruit if it contains insects, you can’t tell by looking at someone’s face if they are HIV positive.’ Sad news is that this particular sycamore fig tree at Busanga fell in April 2019. Where: 500m north of Busanga Bush Camp, Kafue National Park, Zambia. Factfile: The genus is 60 million years old and the sycamore fig was mentioned in the bible.

7. Symbols and stamps The quiver tree is Namibia’s national tree and a symbol of the south, where it grows in rocky areas of desert and semi-desert. It got its name in the 17th century when Dutch Cape colony governor Simon van der Stel learnt that the San hollowed out its tube-like branches to make quivers to stash their poisoned arrows during the hunt. The trunks of dead quiver trees were also used as natural fridges to store water and meat because the fibrous tissue has a cooling effect as air passes through it. A member of the aloe family, it is protected in Namibia. It featured on Namibian postage stamps five times between 1961 and 2010 and appears on the Namibian 50c coin. Quiver trees were declared endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2010. Where: Quiver tree forest 14km northeast of Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Factfile: The quiver tree can live 100-200 years but only starts flowering at 20-30 years and has bright yellow flowers in winter. It is well adapted to hot, dry climates but coming under increasing threat from climate change.

‘Yes, there on the grass, in the shade of the withaak, the leopard and I lay down together. The leopard lay half curled up, like a dog, and whenever I tried to move away, he grunted. I am sure that in the whole history of the Groot Marico there have never been two stranger companions engaged in the thankless task of looking for strayed cattle.’ Herman Charles Bosman, In the Withaak’s Shade ​

8. Oom Schalk’s tree When Herman Charles Bosman’s character, Oom Schalk Lourens, lay down to rest in the shade of a withaak (white thorn) tree while supposedly looking for lost cattle, he imagined the tip of his boot was a hill called Abjaterskop. Before long a leopard appeared on the hill and started sniffing his feet. Its breath swept over his face in hot gasps as he lay paralysed with fear. Then the leopard turned and lay down next to him half curled up like a dog. Bosman’s deceptively simple satire brings alive the scenes and characters of the hardcore bushveld and mampoer country of the Groot Marico. Sadly, this story from Mafeking Road ends with a red splash on the leopard’s breast from a Mauser bullet. Where: North of Groot-Marico town, North West. Visit the Bosman literary festival each October at the Bosman Living Museum in Groot-Marico, a replica of the school where Bosman taught in the 1920s. Factfile: The long thorns are whitish or bluish in colour, giving rise to the dual names of withaak (Afrikaans for white thorn) and blue thorn/blouhaak. White spiky flowers appear from August to October.

9. The manhood tree The most noticeable thing about the sausage tree is its sausage-shaped fruit, which can grow as long as your arm and weigh up to 10kg. ‘In some parts of Africa, people use the fruits to enlarge their manhood,’ says safari guide Livingstone Sana. ‘With the instruction of a traditional healer, a boy climbs up the tree and chooses a young fruit. He cuts a round hole in it to mark his size then leaves the fruit to grow. When it gets to the right size he climbs the tree again and cuts the fruit down without touching it so that it doesn’t continue growing too big.’ Where: Just north of Little Makolololo Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Factfile: The flowers, which open at night, have an unpleasant smell that attracts bats to pollinate them. 10. The tree of life The marula is called the tree of life for its many uses from food to medicine. ‘It’s a photographer’s best friend in summer when leopards climb it for shade,’ says Londolozi ranger Alistair Smith. ‘The growth structure provides comfortable platforms for them to rest. Other animals almost guaranteed to be near a summer-fruiting marula are elephants. Once they’ve eaten the fruit off the ground they often shake the tree so more crashes down.’ He adds, ‘Male and female parts are on different trees so Shangaan people believe a pregnant woman who wants a daughter should drink tea made from the bark of a female tree; for a son, she drinks tea made from the male tree.’ Where: Londolozi in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Mpumalanga. Factfile: The green African moon moth breeds on the tree. The fruit is made into beer and the ever-popular Amarula liqueur. That the fruit makes elephants drunk is a myth. Note: This article first appeared in British Airways’ High Life magazine with wonderful watercolour illustrations by Hazel Buchan. Like it? Pin this image!

You may also enjoy Magical treehouse in the Baviaanskloof Voices of Botswana: the tree man of Ngoma Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za

[toughestgirlviking-astrid]

♞▸Astrid Hofferson  // 18 // High School Senior  // Engaged to Snotlout J.

TW:  Death, Alcoholism, Physical Abuse, Forced Arrangement.

Growing up, Astrid Hofferson was a lively, courageous girl who loved her family unconditionally.

But after the death of her Uncle and her father, Astrid's life had crumbled apart.  Astrid’s mom had taken a path for the worse.  She had become an abusive alcoholic and when Morgance was at her lowest of lows she would violently take her frustrations out on Astrid physically and yell.  Telling her it was her fault Finn and her dad got themselves killed in the line of duty, her fault that she was drinking, that they had no money.  By the time Astrid was seven, she was a firm believer in what her mom told her carrying that guilt.

When Astrid was ten-years-old she was fed up with her mothers abusive and acoholic behavior and she ran away from home and found an crumbled up abandoned barn and made it her own.  Ever since then Astrid has always taken care of herself.  She worked hard in the summer doing what ever she could to earn a quick buck.  Only she wished she kept a closer eye on her mother over the years.  Unknown to Astrid her mother was piling in major debt with the Jorgensosn.  Gambling and drinking off everything until the only thing that Morgance had to offer was Astrid herself.  Knowing her mother didn’t care about her feelings, or what she had to say she threw Astrid in the mix under an forced arranged marriage with Spitelout’s son, Snotlout Jorgenson to lift the dept Morgance owes.  

Now the clock is ticking as Astrids trying to earn the money before her wedding day to pay of the debt. 

♞▸Posative Traits:

Competent, Confident, Courageous

♞▸Negative Traits:

Distant, Guilt-Ridden, Fiesty

♞▸The Spitfire is in The Details

ZODIAC:.  Aries (  ♈ )

FEAR(S):. Thunder & Lightning.

LIKE(S):.  Dancing, Rain, & Dragonflies

BEST FRIEND: Hiccup Haddock

DISLIKE(S):. Drugs, Alcohol, & engaged to Snotlout

ACTIVITIES(S):.  Cheerleading, Dance, & Gymnastics

JOB(S):.  Aquarium. Show Mermaid named ‘Obsidian’

BIGGEST DREAM:.  Becoming a Prima Ballerina/Dancer 

FAVORITE STONES:.  Rainbow Obsidian, Rainbow Hematite, Labradorite, Iridescent Peacock Ore, Moonstone.

SMELL(S) LIKE:.  Dawn Soap, Eucalyptus & wet stone.

FAVORITE MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE:. Mermaids 

FAVORITE MOVIES:.  Jurassic Park, The Breakfast Club, Indiana Jones, Marvel Movies ( especially w/ Thor&Loki involved. + Starlord & Groot ).

♞▸Junkyard Trash at its Finest

.: &.01 :.  

Ever since Astrid ran away from home she worked very hard during her Summers to save enough money to pay for School, Ballet Classes, Gymnastics, and personal necceties, all on her own.  She was well-known for tracking down lost pets and being found in the Junk Yard for hours collecting Scrap Metal, Plastic/Glass Bottles&Cans, Electronics, & Quirky Items getting paid by recycling certain items.  

.: &.02 :. 

Astrid can play several instruments having taught herself to play the piano, violen, and the guitar.  She is known to play the Guitar or Violen in the Parks and Streets of Adamsville when she’s in need of extra money.

.: &.03 :.  

Astrid's appearance is more elegant and feminine as she doesn’t have as many scars or burns.  She stands at 5′4 with a lean willowy build.  Her hair is more sun-bleached from being outside alot during her Summers and is neatly styled in a lengthy side-braid draped over left her shoulder.  Soft freckles spreaded out just below the eyes and just above her cheeks.

.: &.04 :.  

Astrid has a severe fear of Astrapophobia ( Thunder&Lightening ).  She can’t quite remember ‘why’ or ‘when’ but she is known to cry and have unreasonable and overwhelming anxiety, she has increased alertness, frantic panic&anxiety attacks, clingy behavior, involuntary trembling, troubled breathing, numb from the waist down, and sometimes breaks out in cold sweat.  Avoiding it by any means necessary, known to hide in or under things ( closets, tight spaces, her desk during school ) or burying herself in covers  ��( when she’s alone in the barn ).

( the reason:  When Astrid was seven and her mom was having one of her abusive episodes she threw and locked Astrid out in a middle of a rough Thunder&Lightening storm and was almost hit by lightening trying to climb a tree for shelter but it made her temparily blind in a middle of a rough storm leaving her wandering through the woods alone. )

.: &.05 :.  

Growing up, Astrid often felt not being worth other people’s time and attention.  

But one very hard working and sarcastic boy seemed to become her best friend.  Astrid can’t really pinpoint the moment when she and Hiccup moved from being acquaintances to friends to inseparable best friends but he’s always been there for her.  He’s always done things for her no one else has ever done for her.

When they where kids Hiccup saw Astrid at her very worse during a incoming thunder storm and he’s the only person who can slowly coax her out of  her unreasonable and overwhelming anxiety&panic attack.

◈  Ever since they were kids Astrid is known to secretly sneak into Hiccup’s bedroom through his window ( it’s not like he makes it hard for her ).  And stays with Hiccup when the weather forecasts thunder & lightning.  Staying as long as the thunderstorm lasts.  Several times they’ve almost been caught by Stoick as he seems to have his suspicions.  

◈  Astrid is very well known to steal all the covers when she stays the night during Thunderstorms.  Though she has a hidden bag with her own clothes ( &. necessities ) yet she prefers sleeping in Hiccups shirts.

◈  Astrid brings all sorts of useful metal pieces&electronic parts she’s found in the junkyard aiding Hiccup with his contraptions.

◈  Astrid told Hiccup everything when she turned 15.  He’s the only person she’s ever opened up to personally about her past and abusive home life and why she lives in an abandoned barn.

◈ Input.

.: &.06 :.  

HC About her Job

.: &.07 :. 

Asrid gets lost frequently.  She’ll go out for a walk and hours later end up somewhere she doesn’t know because she gets so lost in her own mind so guilt-ridden because of Morgance, it’s like a blackout.  ( & it has left her in some very sketchy places&scenarios )

♞▸Connections

Eskel Hofferson

Morgance Hofferson

Finn Hofferson

Spitelout Jorgenson

Snotlout Jorgenson

Hiccup Haddock

Theme Song(s):.  Hurricane - Fleurie || Rise - Katy Perry

[grootiez]

The Joys of Raising a Teenaged Groot- Chapter 58: A Different Perspective

The next day, Groot was given the all-clear to leave the nurse’s office and get back to his regular schedule. Azrik monitored Groot from the security camera set up in the nurse’s office from his phone and saw nothing that alarmed him, or needed him to come over during the night, but when Groot goes for his next appointment, he will tell Cre’Nok and Xalani of his concerns with Groot’s medication.

“Okay, Groot, are you ready to go to therapy?” Azrik asked Groot as the teenager nodded. He then pushed Groot out of the nurse’s office and down the hallway to the therapy wing.

Once the three of them got to the therapy wing, Groot thought that Azrik would have to leave for one of his many meetings. The teenager is confused as his aide walks inside the room with him and Rocket.

“Groot, I need to see how you do in therapy today, so I’m going to observe your sessions both today and tomorrow.” Azrik informs Groot as his therapists come by to take him inside.

“Hey, Groot.” Zeliek greeted him. “Are you ready to get started?” Groot wasn’t sure. “We have something fun for you to try today.” That piques Groot’s interests and he nods as Zeliek and Qu’lo leave to go retrieve whatever it was that they were talking about.

A few minutes later, Zeliek and Qu’lo came back with the item: a stander.

“Alright, Groot, are you ready to stand up?” Talia asks Groot as she takes off his lap tray and undoes his various seat belts, as well as swing his footrests out of the way. Miska and Talia positioned Groot’s feet on the stander’s platform and when they were happy with how Groot’s feet were situated, they strapped them in.

Qu’lo and Zeliek then wrapped Groot in a back support and attached the straps to the stander. Zeliek then slowly cranked the lever that would bring Groot from a sitting position to standing. Once Groot was fully upright, his therapists quickly placed lateral side supports as well as a headrest and a pommel in between his knees in order for Groot to stand in an optimal position. The last thing that was put on was an activity tray at the top of the device so that Groot could still do his regular exercises with his arms.

Rocket walked to where his son was now standing. He grabs a step stool that was to the side and climbed the two steps to the top of it to look Groot in his eyes.

“Hey, you’re taller than me now.” Rocket smiles at Groot before he hugged him. “I’m so proud of you.”

Azrik got up from where he was sitting and working with his laptop. “Groot, do you want to see yourself in the mirror?” Groot nods as his aide gets a full length mirror for Groot to look at himself.

Groot didn’t know the significance of him standing until he gazed at himself in the mirror. For once he was eye-to-eye with the people around him instead of having to look up at everyone (except Rocket) all the time. He didn’t care about all of the supports and straps that were needed in order for him to stand, all that mattered to him was that he was now level with everyone.

Groot broke down crying at his new view of the world. Rocket hugged him and because of feeling Groot’s sobs, the raccoon couldn’t help but cry too. These weren’t sad tears, they were happy tears. Tears for Groot experiencing something so simple and so small that was unfairly taken away from him that fateful night when the rebellious teenager made what was probably the worst decision of his young life.

After his therapy session was over with and he was taken out of the stander and placed back in his wheelchair, Rocket couldn’t help but feel pride for Groot. The teenager was starting to amaze his father at how fast and determined he was in his recovery.

As a special treat, Rocket took Groot back to his room to watch Bob Ross. What they both didn’t know was that there was some people waiting for them in Groot’s room.————————————————————————————————

@trashpandaorigins @madness-on-the-milano @madcatz6277 @butterflyinthewell @janetgenea @blaketoziers @thatcrappypuppy @cannedtins @canuckscot @i-sudoku @netbug009 @pineapple-crow @rocket-roquill-raccoon @rocket-ringtail-raccoon @rr4901 @skarabrae-stone @sesshouki @vic394 @woozletania @whoop-whoop-grocket————————————————————————————————— Read on Ao3.

[grootiez]

The Joys of Raising a Teenaged Groot- Chapter 35: Reminiscence

After visiting hours were over, Rocket went back to the motel that he was staying at. He undressed himself, jumped into the shower, and got changed into his pajamas. After climbing into bed, the raccoon flipped through the channels on the ancient TV. (Of which there was only three, and they were all educational crap and none of those shows interested Rocket.) Rocket tries to hack the TV so that he could get some of the good channels and a little bit better reception so the picture wasn’t as grainy and staticky, but even that proved fruitless. He then got out his top-of-the-line gaming laptop and decided to at least play a couple of games he installed on his PC, but since he was on a different planet and the game, World of Warcraft, was on Terra, he would need a signal strong enough to carry  his wifi connection to Earth and back. Since the motel he was staying at had shoddy wifi at the best, playing the game, or even going on the internet was out of the question.

So the only option for Rocket was to rifle through the bag of old movies that he brought with him. After searching for something good to watch, he found nothing. But, as he looked in the bottom of the bag, he saw an old VHS tape labeled “Guardians Family Moments”.

“I-I don’t remember packing this in the bag...” Rocket was confused as to how the video tape ended up in his bag. He then remembered that Peter helped him with his bags to the car when it was time for the raccoon to move into temporary housing while Groot was being rehabilitated at the nursing home for an undetermined amount of time. “Star-Munch...” He whispered to himself as he held the tape.

The raccoon plopped the tape into the VCR and an old reel of various moments of the Guardians’ life as a newly formed team, and more importantly, a family played. There were touching moments of everyone, but Rocket payed close attention to the moments between him and Groot that were captured on camera.

The first scene was when Groot was reborn and started to move around. Rocket was so elated that he had his best friend back and vowed to protect him from any harm that befell him. The raccoon wishes that he was more protective over Groot, knowing what has happened to him in the last few months.

Rocket fast fowarded to the next part. This was when Groot was starting to mimic words and everyone was seated around the tiny twig inside of his pot, which was lovingly decorated by Rocket. Groot was trying his best and the Guardians were encouraging him to speak (although Peter was hoping that he would say something other than “I am Groot.” He was coaxing the tiny twiglet to say “Starlord is the best!”) At last the tiny Flora Colossus spoke.

“I... I... am... Groot!” Groot exclaimed as he held his tiny branch arms up towards Rocket, wanting the raccoon to pick him up.

As Rocket held the baby Flora Colossus in his arms, he couldn’t believe what Groot’s first word was.

“So, what did he say?” Peter impatiently asked. “It better have been ‘Starlord is the best uncle in the entire galaxy!’” He playfully teased Groot as the sapling tries to hide in Rocket’s fur for protection.

“He definitely didn’t say that, Star-Munch.” Rocket snarled at the Terran as he handed Groot off to Gamora.

“Then what was it, Rocket?” Gamora, who let Groot play with her hair asked as the baby giggled.

Rocket smiled as Gamora handed Groot back to him. “Dad.” The raccoon wiped a tear from his eyes as he looked at his son. “He called me ‘Dad.’”

Rocket reflects on this part. He knows that no matter how well Groot mastered the speech synthesizer, he’ll never hear his son say “Dad” in his own natural voice ever again.

The tape then showed Groot’s first steps. Rocket had set Groot’s pot on the counter, in order to give the tiny Flora Colossus a bath, even though Groot wanted cookies first. As soon as Rocket turned his back to check the water temperature in the sink that Groot was to be bathed in, the tiny tree extended his tiny arms to the shelf that the cookie jar was on and began to lift himself up to it. Unfortunately, Groot’s coordination wasn’t the best and his arms let go of the shelf as he slowly fell to the floor. Luckily, Gamora entered the kitchen at the right time as Groot was free falling to the ground in slow motion and caught him just before his pot hit the floor.

“Groot! Groot!” Rocket was frantic as he rushed over to Gamora, who held Groot’s pot with the twig in it, in her arms. “What the-. What the flark were you trying to do?”

“I am Groot!” Groot replied in his most adorable voice as Gamora handed him to Rocket.

“I told you that you would get some cookies after your bath, not before.” Rocket said as he caught his breath. Groot then got upset and began to cry. “No, no, Groot, I’m sorry that I said that. I just want you to be safe and happy.” The raccoon then proceeded to rock Groot back in forth in his arms. “I love you, son.”

Groot’s tears stopped, the tiny tree looking up at his father. Rocket felt Groot shift his weight in his pot. He mentions this to Gamora and they carry Groot over to the table.

As Gamora examines Groot’s roots underneath the soil, she sees something amazing. “Rocket.” She began as she shifted some of the dirt around so that he could get a better look. “Groot’s ready to come out of his pot. He has legs now.”

Rocket was happy. Groot has reached another milestone in his development, growing legs and being able to leave his pot and explore the environment around him for the first time. At first Groot was crawling on his hands and knees, just like any other toddler. But unlike other toddlers, Groot’s surroundings were filled with dangerous things. Everything that was normally found in family homes that was a potential safety risk to a now-mobile toddler was now within his reach. But unlike other families, the Guardians’ house was filled with other hazards, the most luring items in Rocket’s workshop, which contained various weapons, bombs, and DEATH BUTTONS that were especially tempting to Groot. After multiple failed attempts to keep Groot out of Rocket’s workshop, (neither their warnings or time outs worked on the little tree that was entering the Floral Colossi version of “The Terrible Twos.”) The only option was to babyproof (or in the Guardians’ case, “Grootproof”) the entire Milano, paying particular attention to the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, anywhere Groot could sneak off to or hide in without the Guardians knowing, and Rocket’s workshop. ESPECIALLY Rocket’s workshop, where any of the weapons, bombs, and DEATH BUTTONS could pose a danger, not only to the Guardians, but to the entirety of Xandar should Groot get his branches on one and ACCIDENTALLY activate it.

Well, the aforementioned “Grootproofing” was only successful for only a day. It didn’t take Groot long how to figure out how to undo the baby locks on the cabinet doors. He also discovered how to climb over the baby gates and various barriers that blocked him from having free range of the house. (All he had to do was extend his arms around to where he could hoist himself over the obstacles.) It took the toddler a little longer to figure out how to get into Rocket’s workshop, but when he did, the Guardians gave up their “Grootproofing” plan and settled on just HEAVILY SUPERVISING the tiny tree wherever he went in the house or on the Milano.

The next part of the video was Groot’s first day of preschool. The little guy was nervous as he clung tightly to Rocket’s jumpsuit as the raccoon carried his son to the preschool entrance. As soon as the duo approached the door (The other Guardians stood proudly as they watched father and son go up the steps of the preschool together.)

Rocket placed Groot on the ground as the tiny Flora Colossus looked around nervously as Rocket straightened up his school uniform that had the school seal of The Xandar Academy for Gifted and Exceptional Students emblazoned on the front pocket of his blazer jacket. “Hey, don’t be nervous, Groot. You’re going to have a lot of fun, meet new kids, and your teachers are going to teach you a lot.” He said as he knelt next to Groot and handed the toddler his Bob Ross backpack and his Limited Edition Bob Ross tin lunchbox.

Rocket smiled as Groot took ahold of the lunchbox and stared in amazement at the embossed impression of his idol, Bob Ross, on it. “You better cherish that lunchbox because it’s going to be your only lunchbox through school. I don’t want to hear you complain, you’re even going to carry that lunchbox with you through high school. Costing us 50,000 units just for a lunchbox with a flarkin’ humie on it. Well, at least he ain’t as ugly as Quill.”

Groot stared at Rocket in confusion. “I am Groot?” The toddler squeaked out as he put his backpack on.

Rocket took Groot’s hand into his own. “Nothing, Groot. You just think about meeting and making new friends.” He reassures his son as Groot’s one-on-one aide came out to greet them and talk to Rocket as she escorted the two to Groot’s preschool class.

Rocket remembered that day. Groot loved his teachers and his aide helped him feel less of an outsider and more like a typical kid. But all of that changed when Groot was in the fifth grade and his aide had to retire because she just turned 65. Rocket remembered the emergency meeting that he had with Groot’s teachers, the school headmaster, the school guidance counselor, Groot’s case manager, the special education department and the school’s speech pathologist. Since Groot was only able to say “I am Groot.” He needed his aide because she was one of the very few people that studied Groot’s species’ language and could translate Groot’s thoughts to everyone else. The headmaster explained to Rocket that they tried to find a new aide for Groot, but since he was the last of his kind, that the need to study his language wasn’t necessary. The school only had 3 options for Groot: homeschool him until his high school graduation, place him in the special education classroom, or give him a communication device so that he could convey his thoughts, although he would sound like a robot to everybody.

Rocket knew that if he homeschooled Groot, the Xandar Department of Child Services would show up at the Guardians’ house faster than a bolt of lightning as soon as they got word that Rocket was teaching Groot how to build various weapons, bombs, and Death Buttons. Rocket didn’t want to place his son into the special education class because Groot was already getting teased because no one could understand him without his aide being present. If he were to be put in the special education class, the teasing would increase tenfold and it would lead to god knows what for Groot. Also, another problem with Groot being placed in the special education class would be the pace of the curriculum. Groot is one of the smartest students in the school and to put him in a class where he wouldn’t be academically interested or challenged would bore Groot to death.

So the only option was to have Groot use the communication device. At first he didn’t like it mainly because none of the voices sounded like him and they all sounded like a robot, which started the bullying of him by the other kids in the school. He still refused to use it even when his case manager and the school’s speech therapist allowed Groot to take the device home in the hopes that he would get used to it and be more apt to communicate through it. But that didn’t make Groot more inclined to use it, especially since he had Rocket at home to translate for him.

It’s Rocket’s hope that Groot will use his new communication device. Especially since Groot’s probability of getting his voice back was nonexistent. But, Groot seems to like his new voice synthesizer, especially since it sounds more like him and less like a robot.

There was one more scene. This was Groot’s latest birthday when he became a teenager. Groot has already started to exhibit the typical teenager behaviors of being moody and embarrassed by anything that his family did. Groot was sitting in a corner playing the portable video game that Rocket just gave him for his birthday. It wasn’t a big party, as Groot had no friends in school and the kids that the Guardians invited to his party refused to show up.

Gamora just brought out the double chocolate cake that she baked for Groot’s birthday, (his favorite type of cake) and Peter wrote “Happy Birthday Groot!” in green icing. They then brought it over to the table and Rocket got a reluctant and moody Groot up from where he was sitting and brought him over to the table as the Guardians sang “Happy Birthday” to Groot. Groot sat there with a bored expression on his face before he unceremoniously blew out the candles without much gusto before he got up and went to his room, bringing an end to the party.

Rocket then turned off the TV and went to bed. As he dreamed of raising Groot, he remembered all of the good times that he had with him, not the bad.

When he got up the next morning, he got the video tape out of the VCR and placed it in its case. He then put the case in his bag before he went to the nursing home. He decided to show Groot his saplinghood, both the good times and the bad times. Since Groot suffered severe memory loss, this was Rocket’s only chance to remind Groot of all of the things that he did before the accident. If Groot even remotely remembered anything, it was worth it to Rocket.

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Read on Ao3 here.

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@trashpandaorigins @madness-on-the-milano @mattchewystuff @rr4901 @whoop-whoop-grocket @thejollymilano @janetgenea @woozletania @vic394 @canuckscot @captain---rabbit @rocket-ringtail-raccoon @pineapple-crow

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[grootiez]

Family

When Rocket tries to enroll Groot into a prestigious preschool, he discovers the people in charge there don’t have Groot’s best interests in mind. When they forcibly remove Groot from the only family that he’s ever known, Rocket will stop at nothing in order to get him back.

But time is of the essence: If Rocket fails to prove that Groot should be reunited with his family and that Rocket should be given full parental rights and allowed to formally adopt Groot as his son, they might never see Groot ever again.

I am Groot.” The little tree said as he tugged on his tie and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Look, I know that you don’t like clothes.” Rocket told him as he straightened the tie that Groot was wearing. “But Quill is paying a lot of money to get you the finest education at the most prestigious preschool on Xandar.” He continued as Groot tried to take off his tie. Rocket then picks Groot up and places him on his lap. “Here, let me help you out.” Rocket then scratches Groot’s back to provide him some relief from wearing the suit that Peter insisted that he wore today to the interview from the Headmistress of the preschool. “There, better?”

“I am Grooooot.” Groot said blissfully as Rocket’s claws scratched his back.

“I know that Star-Munch doesn’t understand that you don’t like clothes.” Rocket reasssured Groot as he straightened Groot’s tie again and placed the tiny tree back on his own seat and Groot sat down. “But, if all goes well, and you get accepted into this preschool, with the type of hoity-toity people they are, you might have to wear a uniform to this school and sit like this.” The rodent mocking how wealthy people sit with one arm held upright with the wrist slightly bent downwards and Rocket’s head was held high as if everyone else was beneath him. Groot giggled and mocked Rocket’s body language as the door to the office that they were in opened.

“Subject 89P-” The Headmistress began as she stepped inside and closed the door.

“Uh, it’s Rocket now, ma’am.” Rocket corrected her as she sat behind her desk and took out some papers.

“Rocket…” She said as if it was in a different language. “I understand that you want to enroll your son into our school.”

“I am Groot.” The sapling introduced himself as he stood up on the chair and leaned over on the desk and held out his hand to shake the Headmistress’ hand.

“Nice to meet you, Groot.” She returned his handshake. Groot then sat back down as she looked at Rocket. “Now, are you his nanny?”

“Nanny?” Rocket was taken aback at the word. Groot held back his laughter at the word. “No, lady, I’m NOT his nanny.”
 

“Then what are you?” She replied coldly. “The well-trained house pet?” Groot then let out a giggle.  

“WHAT?” Rocket snarled as he resisted the urge to pull out the mini-blaster he snuck by the school’s extensive security check-in process, which DID include metal detectors, as well as a full-body pat-down and cavity search by the school resource officers. “I’m his father. HIS FATHER!” Rocket repeated the phrase a little bit louder in case she didn’t hear him the first time.

“Alright.” The Headmistress sighed as she began to write something down. “Now, back to Groot. What’s his IQ level?”

Rocket looks at Groot. He never had Groot’s intelligence tested before. “Well, uh, well…”

“I am Groot.” Groot said with pride as the Headmistress looked at him.

“He just recited his ABC’s.” Rocket told her as Groot grabbed a piece of paper and began to draw a picture on it and color it in.

“He does have an eye for art though.” The Headmistress looked at what he was doing and was amazed. “Did you teach him that yourself?”

“I am Groot.” Groot responded.

“No. He watches this Bob Ross guy on TV.” Rocket added as the Headmistress doesn’t look impressed. “I know, it’s an old show, but he loves it.”

“I am Groot!” Groot proudly exclaimed as he held the picture up.

“Is that all he can say?” She asked concernedly.

Rocket looked at Groot lovingly as he picked him up and placed Groot on his lap. “No, he can also say ‘we’ and ‘are’ on occasion too.”

“Well, communication between the staff and pupils is paramount to student success when they graduate from preschool and move on to kindergarten.” The Headmistress said snobbishly. “If Groot is unwilling to converse in more complex sentence structures-.”

“I never said that Groot was unwilling to talk to other people.” Rocket snapped back. “I was going to say that Groot can’t talk like you or I can.”

“That can be fixed.” The Headmistress began. “We have some of the finest speech therapists on Xandar that can cure Groot of his ‘problem.’ If that doesn’t work, we have some other ‘methods’ that will work.” She finished as she reached over her desk to hold Groot’s hand. Groot is scared of her and cowers in Rocket’s arms.

“What ‘methods’ are you talkin’ about here, lady?” Rocket wondered with a little bit of fear in his voice.

“Well, anything from having Groot either writing down his thoughts on a whiteboard or pointing to various pictures in a book to teaching him how to use a computer that would do the talking for him, or in the most desperate case, we will hire a one-on-one aide for Groot to have throughout the day that will be there to translate his thoughts, and if necessary, place him in a separate classroom where it would be just him, his aide, and a teacher all day in a room away from the other students to prevent them from taunting and bullying him because of his “differences.” If all of that fails, we would do our best to transfer him to a school that would be better equipped to handle his needs.” The Headmistress explained as she showed Rocket various pictures of other students using the aforementioned devices and programs offered by the school.

The idea of forcing Groot to either have an aide do the talking for him or input what he was saying into a specially-designed device or point to various pictures in a book to even having to write down what he was trying to say on a whiteboard (especially when Groot couldn’t read or write yet.) didn’t sit too well with Rocket. 

Another thing that Rocket wasn’t so sure of was the fact of isolating Groot from all of the other students and placing him in a tiny room all day where, at the most he’ll only see at the maximum 3 adults all day, all because Groot couldn’t talk like everyone else and them probably ostracizing him over it.
Rocket then looked at Groot and Groot looked back at him.

“I’m sorry, but I think that we’ll be enrolling Groot somewhere else.” Rocket looked the Headmistress in the eye as he got up and placed Groot on the floor. “Thank you for your time.” He shook her hand as she opened the door for him. Rocket then grabbed Groot’s hand and they walked out of the office and went home.

As Rocket carried Groot back to the house, (The Milano was in the shop for repairs and Peter suggested that they needed somewhere to call home when they were not out on missions and he was tired of staying in expensive Xandarian hotels when they had nowhere else to stay.) he couldn’t help but seethe at how he and Groot were treated. He would let the others know of what happened at the preschool.

“We’re home!” Rocket called out to the others as he opened the door carrying an exhausted Groot in one arm (Rocket forgot that since Groot was only a baby and that his legs weren’t as long as they were when he was big, he got tired easily and couldn’t go as far and since Rocket didn’t bring Groot’s stroller with him on the way to the preschool. He wanted to prove that Groot was a “Big Boy” and not a baby anymore, even though he still slept in a crib, wasn’t potty-trained yet, still needed to eat in a high chair, among other things. Groot was already tired as they crossed from the street that the preschool was on. Rocket promised to Groot that he wouldn’t tire him out like that again.) Rocket then throws the house keys into a bowl that was on a table beside the door. “Hm, guess no one is home…” He said to Groot as he set Groot down on the floor.

“I AM GROOOOOT!!!!!” The pint-sized tree’s shouts echoed throughout the house as he ran to the kitchen to grab a snack.

“So much for being tired…” Rocket chuckled to himself as he watches Groot run throughout the house, realizing that Groot was only “pretending” to be “tired” so Rocket would have to carry him home.

“I AM GROOOoooOOOT!!!!” The tiny tree shouted from the top of his lungs as he took off the monkey suit that he was forced to wear today as he kept running throughout the house, waving the pieces in glee above his head before he tossed them away. 

Groot then made another mad dash towards the kitchen, this time he used a chair to climb up to the cupboard where he knew Peter and Rocket hid his favorite candy.

“I am Groot.” Groot said with a cheeky smile on his face as he ate a piece of the candy in what seemed like slow motion.

What Groot failed to notice was the label on the packaging of the candy that said “SUGAR-FREE, FAT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN-FRIENDLY CANDY.” Rocket then got a bright idea.

“Sure, Groot. Eat as much candy as you want.” Rocket encouraged his son as he winked at him.

Groot being unable to read, didn’t understand the words written on the candy bag. All he noticed were all the bright colors on it. So he ate all the candy that was in the bag. Groot, thinking that he was on a sugar high, continued his rampage throughout the house as the front door opened and the other Guardians came back from doing their errands for the day.

“There he is!” His favorite person, Gamora greeted him as she squatted down and held out her arms as Groot ran and leaped into them.

“I am Groot!” Groot said excitedly as he hugged Gamora as she picked him up.

She played with Groot for a couple of minutes before he wanted to be put back down. Groot then doesn’t feel well and lets out a tiny fart.

“Ugh, what is that smell?” Drax asked as he brought in some stuff from the car.

“Rocket, did you change Groot after you two got back home from the preschool?” Peter asked the raccoon as he pinched his nose.

“Yes I did, Star-Dump.” Rocket lied.

“Well, he needs another one.” Starlord ordered Rocket as he pointed to Groot’s soiled diaper.

“Oh, no no no no.” Rocket argued. “I was on diaper duty yesterday. Get someone else to do it! Get Kraglin to do it and have him start pulling some weight around here for once!” Rocket barked back as Kraglin snuck into the kitchen to make himself some soup.

“But I dunno how to change a diaper…” Kraglin said as Rocket growled in frustration. Kraglin then saw the cupboard that Rocket and Peter hid all of the candy from Groot was opened. “Uh, Rocket? Did you let Groot have some candy?”

“What kind of parent do you think I am?” Rocket snapped back. “No! Of course not!”

“Uh, huh… Then Groot climbed up on the counter all by himself and helped himself to as much candy as he wanted?” Starlord interrogated.

“Yeah! That’s why we need child locks on everything around here, but no, you said that Groot knows better.” Rocket retaliated. “Well, what now?”

Starlord can clearly see through Rocket’s lies. “Uh, huh. And who was supposed to put the locks on everything, huh? Including all of the weapons, equipment, and especially the ‘Death Buttons’ Groot has taken a certain liking towards?”

“OH, FINE! I was supposed to Groot-proof the house, okay, Star-Munch?” Rocket confessed. “But he did climb up on the counter by himself.”

Drax walks over to the counter where the candy bag was. “And was the dumb tree being punished for running throughout the house by you giving him the disgusting sugar-free candy?”

“What? No, I would never do such a thing.” Rocket’s lie was unraveling rapidly.

“Rocket.” Gamora said disapprovingly. “You should know more than anybody here that Groot can’t have the sugar-free candy. Shame on you.”

“Oh, wait a second!” Starlord starts to piece everything together. “Rocket wanted to get back at us for making him actually act like a father, so he let Groot eat the candy, knowing that he would get an upset stomach and would need a diaper change. He then pretends that he’s too busy with other things to actually take care of Groot. So, he would make one of us change Groot’s diaper as an act of revenge. Isn’t that right, Mr. Father of the Year?”

“No! I pull my weight here with the damn twig.” Rocket argued. “I have to do everything around here!”

“Hm, let’s ask the twig, then.” Peter challenges as he kneeled on one knee to get down to Groot’s eye-level. “Groot, did Rocket tell you to keep eating the candy even though he knew that you would get a upset tummy?” 

Groot then nods at Starlord. Rocket then grabs the fur on top of his head and growls.

“Hehe.” Peter chuckled as Rocket picked Groot up and carried him to his nursery. “Oh, yeah, how about you take the garbage outside after you’re finished with Groot and live up to your name, Mr. Trash Panda?” 

Rocket mutters something under his breath as he slams the door closed.

Later that evening, the Guardians gathered around the TV to watch a movie. Rocket brings a freshly cleaned Groot (Starlord said that it was okay for Rocket to bathe Groot in his brand-new Jacuzzi as long as he didn’t let Groot use it as a giant toilet or ruin it in any other way.) out of his room.

“There he is!” Peter said playfully to Groot as Rocket closed the door leading to their shared room which acted as a nursery for now.

“I AM GROOOOOT!!!!!!” The tiny tree yelled playfully as Rocket placed him on the floor and Groot charged at the other Guardians who were sitting on the couch.

“Oh, you got me!” Starlord pretends to be injured as Groot punches him in his stomach playfully.

“Alright Mr. Killer Tree, that’s enough.” Rocket said as he picked Groot up and sat down with Groot in his lap. “So, what’re we watching tonight?”

“I believe that the movie we’re going to be watching is Mary Poppins.” Peter said as he held up the DVD case for the others to see. Kraglin, Drax, and Rocket cheered as Gamora joined them with a bowl of buttered popcorn from Terra.

“Cap’n woulda loved to watch this movie.” Kraglin said as a tear formed in his eye. The other Guardians nodded in silence.

Groot, however, wasn’t impressed.

“I am Groot.” He said with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“Groot, we’ve been over this.” Rocket began. “You said that it was okay if we had a family movie night and you would only miss a couple of episodes of Bob Ross. Heck, Star-Dork even promised you that you could watch them later, okay? So can we watch the movie without you getting upset and throwing a tantrum?” Rocket begged.

Groot thought about it for a moment. “I am Groot.” He said quietly as he nodded his head. 

“Don’t worry, Groot, you’re going to love the movie.” Gamora reassured him. “It’s fun, there’s a few good songs, and I think you’ll love the dancing.”

“I am Groot.” Groot said as he looked at Rocket.

“What do you mean by ‘Next week we better watch Fast and Furious.’!?!?” Rocket asked, shocked by Groot’s statement. “You’re much too young for that kind of movie.”

“I am Groot.” The tree argued with his arms crossed. “I am Groot.” He added to his demand as he held up a Terran magazine and pointed to a picture in it as he handed it to Rocket.

“I know that Vin Diesel is your role model.” Rocket told Groot as he looked at the magazine. “It’s just, what those movies are about and what they show, I don’t think that they’re appropriate for a young sapling like you.” Rocket placed his hand on Groot’s shoulder in a fatherly manner. “How about next week we watch The Iron Giant?”

Peter then looked at Rocket as he knew how that movie ended.

“Problem, Star-Chump?” Rocket looked at Peter.

“Uh, Rocket…” He began, he then whispered in Rocket’s ear how The Iron Giant ends and how it would reawaken memories of that fateful day on Xandar.

“Okay, we won’t watch The Iron Giant then. And thanks for spoiling the movie for me, Star-Munch.” Rocket told the others. “But don’t worry, Groot. We’ll find a Vin Diesel movie that’s right for you. Now let’s watch Mary Poppins before it gets too late.” The raccoon said as Peter put in the movie.

As they’re watching the movie, both Kraglin and Peter tear up when Mary Poppins appears, as her flying in on her umbrella reminded them of Yondu. Mantis and Gamora both liked how motherly she treated the children. Rocket, surprisingly, took it all in, even the songs and cheesy parts, which shocked everyone, especially since they thought Rocket was all rough and tough and didn’t know that he had a soft side. Drax, as suspected, didn’t understand any of it, forcing Starlord to explain everything.

The only unappreciative person in the group was Groot, who got bored after “Spoonful of Sugar” and started to get antsy. He got up, climbed down from Rocket’s lap, and grabbed the bowl of popcorn and took a handful of popcorn and ate a piece. Forgetting that he hated the taste of popcorn, he spit it out and threw it at Drax, who didn’t even flinch. Groot smiled at discovering a new game. He then grabbed another handful (or in Groot’s case, an armful) of popcorn and continued to chuck each one at Drax. 

This continues for a bit thanks to Drax falling asleep on the couch, and since he’s a heavy sleeper and snores loudly, he doesn’t even flinch as Groot flings the popcorn at him. Drax woke up only after a piece of popcorn hits him in the face, near his mouth.

“Ungh…” Drax stretched as he yawns. He then looks at all of the popcorn that landed on his bare chest and pajama pants. He then bursts into laughter. “Hahahaha! So my dream was real!” He continued his laughing until Groot climbed up onto him and slapped him on his face.

“Groot!” Gamora said, shocked by his behavior as Peter paused the movie. “What was that for?”

“I am Groot.” The tree said stubbornly. “I am Groot.” He added as he pointed to Drax and frowned at him.

“What do ya mean by ‘Drax started it.’? He was sleeping!” Rocket replied to Groot. “No, no, no. You know what? I’m done arguing with you and you always getting your way. Bedtime, NOW!” Rocket took Groot’s tiny little hand into his paw and began walking him to their room. 

Groot was trying to get free by any means possible: prying Rocket’s firm grip loose from his hand, sitting down on the ground, kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs, hoping Rocket’s raccoon-like frame couldn’t drag him down the hallway, and, since none of that was helping Groot’s cause, Groot began to beg, plead, and even apologize to Rocket, even crying, since he knew no one could resist his puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, fine!” Rocket conceded. “You can stay up with everyone else!” He got down to Groot’s eye-level. “But, you gotta behave and apologize to Drax for what you did. And I get to read you The Giving Tree tonight.” He added as Groot rolled his eyes. Rocket then stared down Groot in the eyes. “Groot. You have to be punished. I’m doing you a favor by not putting you to bed and letting you stay up late with everyone else. So, what’s your choice? Early bedtime or me reading you The Giving Tree?” 

Groot tilted his head down low. “I am Groot.” He said quietly with a melancholy tone in his voice.

“Thought you would say that.” Rocket said as he carried Groot back to the living room. “Just behave for the rest of the night, ‘kay?” Groot nodded as they entered.

Rocket explained that he and Groot had a talk and that Groot would behave. The others accepted it and watched some TV.

Groot fell asleep in Rocket’s lap a few minutes later, the evening news lulling him to sleep. Rocket then looked down at the sleeping baby tree in his arms and stroked Groot’s head, caressing his cheek as little snores escaped his mouth. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. Groot stirred in his sleep, only slightly opening his eyes, before Rocket soothed him and Groot was back to Dreamland again.

“I’ll go get it.” Starlord said as he got up from his recliner. “These people need to learn that going from door-to-door to preach whatever god they believe in is just plain stupid and just wastes our time, especially this late at night.” He sighs as he goes to open the door.

As he opened the door, two government agents were standing at the entrance to the house. They had stern looks on their faces and didn’t move an inch.

“Mr. Quill, I’m Agent Zorlok and this is Agent Kri’loch and we know that you’re one of Subject 89P13′s primary contacts.” The tall, skinny agent said as he and his colleague flashed their government-issued ID’s at Quill.

Peter then let out a nervous chuckle. “Haha. Oh, boy. What did he do now?” He asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Try to get intel on a top secret government project? Is he on Xandar’s Most Wanted? I didn’t catch this week’s episode, but-.”

“Out of the way, sir.” The other agent, Kri’loch rudely ordered him as he shoved Peter out of his way and the agents entered the house.

“HEY!” Starlord tried to get up. “WE HAVE A BABY IN THIS HOUSE THAT’S TRYING TO GO TO SLEEP AND BY YOU TWO BARGING IN-!” Peter then was tackled by the agents and they fight as they force their way to the living room.

The other Guardians hear the commotion coming from the foyer and are on edge from overhearing the exchange. Groot, though, was still fast asleep.

“ROCKET!” Starlord shouted to the raccoon before Zorlok zapped him with a blast from his stun gun, knocking out Peter. The noise of the gun woke Groot up, who was scared and crying hysterically.

“Hand over the child, vermin.” Kri’loch commanded as he pointed his gun towards Rocket. “Or you’ll end up just like your friend.” He let out a sinister laugh.

Rocket, looking at the other Guardians, hung his head low as he walked over to the two agents. As he was about to hand over a frightened Groot to the agents, he patted Groot on the back and kissed him on the cheek.

“Shh, it’ll be okay, Groot.” Rocket said to Groot as he handed the tiny tree over to the government agents. “I love you, buddy.” He added as Groot was grabbed by the back of his neck like a dog and was taken from him and Rocket walked back to the others, his head low and tail trailing behind him.

“Stand down!” Zorlok commanded as he pointed his gun at the other Guardians, who, except Starlord, who was still unconscious from the stun gun, had their weapons drawn as Rocket rejoined them. But Rocket was not in the mood to fight, having to hand over his best friend for some unknown reason. 

“Thought so.” He coldly said as the Guardians put their weapons down to comfort Rocket as the two agents left with Groot in tow.

That night, Rocket couldn’t sleep. He was too traumatized to lay in his bedroom all alone. He looked over at Groot’s crib, saddened to see it empty. Right now, Rocket would either be tucking Groot into bed, singing him a lullaby, calming him down if he awakened from having a bad dream, or reading him a bedtime story.

Oh, that last thought. Rocket got up from bed and walked over towards Groot’s side of the room where his crib, changing table, the rocking chair that Rocket or one of the other Guardians used to rock Groot to sleep sometimes, and his toy box was. Most of the toys that were supposed to be put in the toy box were strewn out all over the floor. Just like a normal toddler’s room. Rocket picked up one of the toys only to place it back on the floor. It didn’t feel right to put the toys back into the toy box and not have Groot take it back out moments later. 

The raccoon then approached Groot’s crib. The bedsheets on the crib were neatly made as if the crib hasn’t been used yet. Since Rocket had to wake Groot up early to go to that interview for that prestigious preschool that Peter said Groot should be enrolled in, he didn’t have time to make Groot do his chores and make his bed. So he did it himself to save time and so they wouldn’t be late. Thinking back on it, that interview was probably a gigantic waste of time considering how the staff, and especially the Headmistress treated both Rocket and Groot while they were there. When they got home from the preschool, Groot was too hyped up to be put down for his afternoon nap, which, in hindsight, was probably why he was so stubborn during the movie tonight.

Rocket looked at the crib again, running his paw along the crisp, clean sheets. He stopped when he got to Groot’s pillow. The pillow had a little impression of a tiny Flora Colossus’ head where Groot would lay his head at night. The pillow still had Groot’s scent on it. Rocket then shifted his gaze towards the teddy bear next to the pillow. This was Groot’s favorite toy and if he didn’t have it, Groot wouldn’t feel at home. The teddy bear was a gift from Peter who had it when he was a child on Terra and had it in his bookbag the night he left Earth. He gave Groot the teddy bear the day Groot resprouted to make him feel safe at nighttime. Rocket picked both the pillow and teddy bear up and tucked them under his arms.

Rocket then approached the bookshelf where all of Groot’s stories were placed, albeit messily and disorganized. The only form of organization that there was, was by the books’ conditions. The books on the top were Groot’s favorites, as they have been heavily used and the pages were worn, and in some cases, torn to the point were they were almost unreadable. The books on the bottom were brand-new, except for the dust collecting on them, almost as if they weren’t even used yet. These were Groot’s least favorite stories. 

Rocket took out the book on the very bottom of the stack. This one had the most dust on it out of all of the other books. It was The Giving Tree, Groot’s least favorite book. As Rocket flipped through the pages, he can’t help but reminisce about the first time he read the book and the second time he read it, this time with Groot. Groot didn’t like the story much, but Rocket did, as the boy reminded him so much of himself, and the tree reminded him of Groot.

Rocket then took the book, teddy bear, and pillow over to Groot’s crib and climbed up on it. He placed the pillow in its usual place and propped up the teddy bear on the pillow and pulled up the blankets to the teddy bear, almost as if he was tucking Groot into his bed. He then looks at the book in his lap and runs his paw across the title. Rocket tries to hold back the tears as he opened up the book. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Rocket?” The door creeked slightly open. Peter was standing in the doorway. “Hey, buddy, what’cha doing?”

“None of your business, Star-Lump.” Rocket said as he sighed. Peter walks into his room and joins him in sitting on Groot’s bed.

Starlord saw that Rocket wasn’t coping well with not having Groot around. He pats the raccoon on his head. “I miss him too. He must be missing all of us right now. Alone and scared in some unknown place.”

“I know.” Rocket started to sob. “And I’m not there to protect him!” He dug his face into Peter’s chest to muffle his crying.

“We’ll find a way to bring him back home.” Starlord reassured Rocket as he stood up, but still had his hand on Rocket’s shoulder. “Hey, if you feel lonely in here, you can sleep in my room tonight.”

“Thanks, Quill, but I’ll be alright on my own.” Rocket said as Quill left for his room for the night.

An hour later, Quill is awakened by the sound of his door opening and a few seconds later, a raccoon-like body scurrying up onto his bed and curling up next to him in the darkness. Quill was about to speak when a single claw-like finger was placed against his lips.

“Say anything and die.” A voice warned him. Peter then went back to sleep.

The next morning, the Guardians were gathered around the kitchen table, eating breakfast. They were having waffles, bacon, sausage, cheese grits, toast, honey, jam, orange juice and coffee.

They were having a boisterous conversation about something, but Rocket didn’t feel like talking much. He just stared at his coffee, taking a spoon and mindlessly stirring it, lost in thought. Rocket then looks up from his coffee mug, which Groot made for him with the help of Gamora. It had a hand-drawn picture of Groot and Rocket crudely etched into it with the words “I am Groot” above the picture. But Rocket knew that it meant “#1 Dad”. The raccoon’s focus then shifted from the coffee mug to Groot’s high chair, which sat empty in the corner.

The raccoon then excuses himself from the table and takes his coffee down to his workshop to work on a new prototype gun or something.

After an uncomfortable amount of silence, Mantis speaks up.

“This is really bothering the Crabby Puppy, isn’t it?” She said worriedly as she glanced towards his workshop.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen Rocket this upset since-.” Kraglin trailed off his sentence.

“I got an idea.” Drax sat up straight and puffed out his chest. “Gamora, may I see your phone?” He asked as Gamora handed over her cell phone.

“What are you doing?” She asked as Drax tries to figure out how the phone worked.

“Getting help.” He responded as he found the number he wanted to dial. “I’m calling your sister.” He places the phone on speaker.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Gamora said as she got up as she heard her sister’s answering machine message play. It was about her thirst for vengeance against her father. Gamora snatches her phone back. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” The Destroyer asked. 

“One, she’s a wanted criminal. Two, she’s hellbent on one thing, and one thing only, and three, why would she even want to help you or Rocket in the first place?” The green woman questioned Drax. “You’re only wasting your time.” She added as she sat back down.

“Ugh, fine.” Peter sighed as he got up. “I’ll go talk to him.” 

Peter climbed down into the basement where Rocket’s workshop is. As he opened the door, the room was empty, the toy “Death Button” Rocket was working on for Groot to distract him from playing with the real “Death Buttons” was sitting on his workbench, halfway finished.

As he looked around the room, Peter saw the tiny window leading from the basement was open, a gentle breeze moving the curtain back and forth. Rocket was nowhere to be found.

The hustle and bustle of Xandar in the morning was quite hectic. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, people going every which way up and down the sidewalks, frequently bumping into each other. 

Among them was a very depressed cybernetically-enhanced raccoon dressed in an orange jumpsuit that was walking on his hind legs as if he was a person. The raccoon hung his head low and dragged his feet as he walked, clearly saddened by something.

But no one cared about the raccoon’s feelings, as wherever they had to be was more important to them. This was apparently evident in one obese alien lady with 6 kids, who was clearly in a hurry to go wherever she needed to with her kids as she shoved the raccoon to the ground as she rushed past with her kids.

“Stupid trash panda, move!” She ignorantly spat at the creature as she went on her way.

The raccoon then looked at her. “THAT’S MR. TRASH PANDA TO YOU, LADY!” He snarled back. “AND MY NAME IS ROCKET, BY THE WAY!” It was too late, she wasn’t within earshot anymore.

Rocket got himself up off of the ground and dusted himself off. He spat in the direction the lady went and flipped her off. He looked around at his surroundings to get an idea of where he was in the city. There was a tall, imposing building in front of him with a gigantic yard to the side. The yard had grass, a swingset, a basketball court for the older kids/teens, a few sandboxes set off to the sides, and a fairly impressive playground. There was a tall fence with a barbed wire and electrified spikes at the top surrounding the yard. 

“This looks more like a prison than anything.” He said quietly to himself.

Rocket then heard the cacophony of children of various ages playing and laughing with each other under the supervision of adults. The playground and basketball court were filled with activity, as expected, the swings had a few of the little kids playing on it, while the rest of the kids played various games on the grass. The sandboxes were deserted, no pun intended.

Rocket watched the children in the yard. Just as he was about to leave, a tiny child walked to the sandbox that was right on the inside of the fence, opposite Rocket. This child looked lonely and dejected. The child sat in the sandbox, not looking up or around at anything, even the weird raccoon creature on the other side of the fence.

As Rocket looked at the depressed child, he couldn’t help but notice that this child looked and behaved a lot like Groot when he would get sad. The only thing that separated this child from Groot was the uniform that the child was wearing. But other than that, Rocket thinks that the similarities were too much.

“Groot?” Rocket asked the child. “Is- is that y-you?” His voice breaking as he is overcome with emotion.

The child then looked up, and then looks at Rocket. His eyes fill with tears. “I am Groot.” He said quietly so no one else could hear.

Rocket was speechless. He has found his best friend and unofficially adopted son! He had a million questions for him. Rocket tries to hug Groot through the fence, but the thick plexiglass in between the bars prevented this.

“Gr-Groot. When did you get here?”

“I am Groot.” Groot responded. Of course the scary agents would’ve brought him here, as it was the closest place for ‘children in distress.’

“Well, what about the other kids and adults?” Rocket asked Groot. “Do they treat you good?”

A tear formed in Groot’s eye as he hung his head low and shook it. Rocket saw how rejected Groot felt by the other children and the adults that cared for him. He didn’t even have one friend here.

Groot then tugged at his uniform, trying to scratch his back.

“Groot, Groot.” Rocket ushered the young sapling closer to the fence. “Here, let me help you take that monkey suit off.”

“I am Groot!” The tree responded, terror in his voice.

“What do you mean by ‘You get in trouble every time you try to take it off.’?” Rocket asked. “What do they do to you?”

Groot then pulled back his shirt collar, revealing a shock collar around his neck. He then makes a motion of someone pushing a remote control and Groot then mimics the shocking sensation he gets whenever one of the adults presses the button.

“Oh… my… god…” Rocket said as he realizes what Groot is telling him. “Groot, do you know what this place is called?” Groot points up to a sign on the gate that said in Xandarian script “Children’s Hope Orphanage”. 

Groot then hurried over to one of the adults in the yard as they blew their whistle for the kids to come inside. Groot casts one last look at Rocket before he is taken inside.

Rocket then rushed back home to tell the other Guardians what he found out.

Rocket came home to find the other Guardians searching from him. He then caught their attention.

“Rocket, where were you? We have been-.” Peter was then hushed by Rocket.

“Cut the crap, Quill.” Rocket said as he entered the house. “I found out where Groot was taken to and I need to get him out.”

“Where is he?” Mantis inquires as Rocket sits down on the couch. “Is he okay?”

“He was taken to Children’s Hope Orphanage. Apparently the government considers a raccoon an unfit parent for a Flora Colossus and since there’s no other known members of his spiecies, they’ve put him in that prison that they consider an ‘orphanage’ until some other kind of plant spiecies comes forward to adopt him.” The raccoon told them as he got off the couch and went to a safe hidden in the wall behind a family portrait of the Guardians. “Since the odds of that or some other thing happening are low, I’m going to bail him out.” Rocket then opens the safe that was filled with various guns, rifles, pistols, shotguns, etc. He takes out a mini blaster and loads it. 

“WOAH! WOAH! WOAH!” Starlord exclaimed as he shuts the safe and took the gun away from Rocket. “Not like that you’re not. We’re going to do this the legal way, with a lawyer.”

“No, we’re not!” Rocket fired back. “You haven’t seen the place that they put Groot in. It feels like a prison. Groot is treated like a prisoner by the adults and the other kids.” Rocket then explains what he saw today.

“Rocket, look.” Peter started. “We’re going to try our best to get Groot out of there. But it’ll be tough. Since the orphanage is run by the Nova Corps, they’ll have access to the best lawyers money can buy. It’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Kraglin is sitting in Yondu’s old E-Z chair, eating some tomato soup that would surely stain and ruin the chair that Yondu handed down to him should he ever die in battle. “I got an idea, Cap’n.” 

“What is it?” Starlord sat down so Kraglin could have the floor.

“I say let Rocket do his own sort of investigatin’ while you do the thing with the lawyer and combined, we might have somethin’.” Kraglin suggested. “But no guns.” He added as Rocket handed over a pistol to Peter.

Rocket excused himself to go to bed.

The next day, Rocket walked back to the “orphanage” he found Groot was at to find out more about how Groot was being treated there. He walks up to the 20 foot tall barbed-wire fence and looks at the play yard. Sure enough, the same kids that were there the day before, with one noticeable difference: Groot was nowhere to be found.

“Hey, kid! KID!” Rocket called out to a chubby youngster about Groot’s age.

The kid walked over to the raccoon. The kid, like all of the other children, wasn’t wearing the uniform and shock collar that Groot was wearing yesterday. Leading to the suspicion that Rocket of the adults restricting Groot’s freedom.

“What do you want, freak?” The kid, who went by the name of Billy spat at Rocket as he ate an ice cream cone.

Rocket kept his cool, even though the name calling irritated him. “Have you seen a tiny tree ‘bout this high around here?” Rocket held his flat palm up to his hip, which is how tall Groot is. Billy looked confused. “Okay, have you seen a tiny tree around here?” Rocket gets out his wallet to show him a picure of Groot.

Billy didn’t answer. He was more interested in the fat wad of cash in Rocket’s wallet. He held out his hand to the raccoon.

“What? Oh, FINE! HERE! A 1,000 UNITS!” Rocket handed the spoiled brat the money through the fence. “Now tell me where Groot is.”

On cue, Billy ran away from the fence to the other children who pointed and laughed at Rocket.

Seething, Rocket walked away to go home when the doors to the orphanage opened. Instinctively, Rocket dodged and hid behind a set of trash cans.

Moments later, two ladies who worked there were holding a screaming toddler dressed in a uniform by his arms, one arm each being held by each woman and the toddler’s feet were being dragged along the hot concrete sidewalk. One lady had a child-sized backpack slung across one of her shoulders. The backpack had a crest emblazoned on the smaller front pocket. The same crest that was sewn on the toddler’s navy blue blazer.

“Shut up and behave.” The other lady snarled at the child. “You’re going to school whether you like it or not. Now, let’s go or you’re going to be late for your first day of preschool.”

They then crossed the street to the school in question and took the toddler inside. This preschool was all too familiar to Rocket: It was the preschool that they visited the other day. 

It all then clicked for Rocket. The screaming toddler being dragged to the preschool was in fact Groot and the orphanage found someway to enroll him there.

Rocket then runs back home to tell the others what he saw.

“Guys! Guys!” Rocket exclaimed as he entered the house.

“What is it, Rocket?” Starlord asked as he handed the exhausted raccoon a bottle of water.

“The people in charge of Groot at the orphanage have enrolled him at preschool.” Rocket explained as he took a sip of water.

“Oh, that’s fantastic. Maybe Groot will make some new friends or something.” Peter told Rocket. “You’re always saying that he needs to interact with kids his age instead of hanging around us. This will help him.”

“No, Quill.” Rocket then looked him dead in the eye. “This is the same preschool that wanted him to be separated from the other kids just because he doesn’t talk normal. He’s probably going through hell now.” He explained as Gamora came out.

“Rocket, I was just on the phone with the our lawyer that we hired for Groot’s custody hearing. He wants to meet with you right now.” Gamora told Rocket.

Rocket nodded and walked back outside and got in the car so he could drive himself to the lawyer’s office.

After a few hours, Rocket returned home. By the looks of things, he had a successful first meeting with his lawyer. He sits down with the other Guardians for dinner.

“So the custody hearing is in a week?” Peter asked as he passed around the salad bowl.

“Yeah. Something about he needs some time to get stuff together. But don’t worry, I have a plan.” Rocket said confidently as he cut into his steak and took a bite of it.

“Oh, here we go.” Peter scoffed. “You and your infamous plans.”

“Hey, at least I GOT a plan!” Rocket fired back. “And it’s a full-fledged plan and not 12% of a plan!” He added, eluding to the time that they saved Xandar from total annihilation. 

“But it worked, didn’t it?” Starlord argued.

Rocket was about to say something, but then excuses himself and goes to his room. He had a plan, and it wasn’t 12% of a plan either.

Rocket walked along the same stretch of sidewalk that he walked before, but instead of stopping by the orphanage, he crossed the street to the entrance of the preschool. He was about to enter the school in his usual clothes when he realizes something.

“Crap!” He said quietly to himself as he hid behind the same set of trash cans that he hid behind yesterday. “I can’t go in looking like this. Think, Rocket, think!”

Just then, one of the school’s custodians came walking by, whistling some sort of song that was terribly out of tune and off-key. Rocket then had an idea. He took his backpack off of his back and got the smallest blaster gun that he owned out. He set it to “stun” and fired it at the janitor. The janitor collapses and writhes in pain until he is rendered unconscious a few seconds later. Rocket then drags the body behind the trash cans and looked at the body. 

Amazingly, the janitor that Rocket attacked was the same size as he was. As Rocket stripped the janitor of his uniform, the raccoon didn’t have to make any adjustments to the jumpsuit to make it fit a raccoon’s body. 

Rocket then took a look at the janitor’s ID card, took out the laptop in his backpack, and with a little help from Photoshop, altered the ID to replace the janitor’s photo with Rocket’s. 

Rocket then clipped the ID badge to his uniform and placed his computer back in his backpack and hid the bag in some bushes behind the school. 

As he was finishing up, he heard a couple of ladies dragging a defiant toddler to the front door of the school. This was Groot. Rocket rushed to the front of the school to greet them.

“Enough!” One of the ladies hissed at Groot. “You know how you’re supposed to behave. Now you’re going to school and that’s it!”

“I am Groot!” The toddler screamed as he tried to break free of their grasp. The other lady then took out what appeared to be a leather switch and raised it above Groot’s head as if to hit him.

“Whoa! Woah! Woah!” Rocket interrupted to get their attention before they hit Groot. “Ladies, I could take him inside for you. I know that he’s late and the Headmistress will certainly give him a detention or take away his recess time, but you two go do your thing and I’ll take care of him.” Rocket said as he winked at Groot. 

The two ladies then gave Rocket a disapproving glance before they left. Rocket then used one of the keys on his keychain to open the door as he and a frightened Groot step inside.

“I am Groot.” Groot said shyly as Rocket closed the door.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t act so scared.” Rocket reassured Groot. “Those mean old ladies are gone now.”

“I am Groot.” Groot whispered as they both heard a classroom door open down one of the hallways. 

“I was only kidding about detention.” Rocket told Groot. “Just to make them leave.”

“I am Groot.” Groot said as he took out a children’s book detailing why he shouldn’t talk to strangers and handed it to Rocket.

“No, I’m not a stranger.” The raccoon told the tiny tree. “You know who I am.” He added as he took off his hat.

Groot’s expression changes and he goes from being on the brink of crying to showing the biggest smile he’s ever had as he hugged Rocket.

“I am Groot!” Groot tries to hide his tears of happiness as he dug his face into Rocket’s chest.

Rocket then pulls Groot away from his chest and looks the sapling in the eye. “I- I’m sorry, Groot.” Rocket tries to hold back the tears as he looked at Groot. “But I can’t take you home yet.” 

Groot’s expression changed yet again as he started to cry.

“No, no. I do want to take you home, more than anything in the world, actually.” Rocket struggled to tell his best friend. “But I can’t yet.”

“I am Groot?” Groot asked him, staring at the floor. 


Rocket searches for the right words. “There’s going to be a meeting soon about who your parents are. I’m going to fight like hell to bring you home and for my right to call you ‘son’ and your right to call me ‘dad’. You just gotta put up with it for a few more days and then we’ll have a big party at the house when you can come home.” 

They then hear a noise and footsteps coming from someone that was wearing high heels. A few seconds later, a tall, skinny woman in a dress approached them. She didn’t look too happy with them, especially Groot.

“There you are!” She scolded Groot as she grabbed his arm. “You’re late for class.” Groot squirmed as she was cutting off blood circulation to his arm by holding it tight like that.

“Wait a second lady, what do you think you’re doing?” Rocket asked her.

“Taking this child to class.” She responded snobbishly. “Now if you’ll excuse me…” She pushed Rocket out of her way as she took a squirming Groot to the classroom.

A couple of hours pass. Rocket is mopping the hallway floors. At first he grumbles, uttering something about this not being what he was meant for. But after a few minutes, he gets over his anger and passes the time humming various songs that he was listening to on Quill’s Zune (that he stole from him this morning.) and dancing with his mop to the beat.

As he was putting another song on, he heard a door from one of the classrooms open. He looks down the hallway and sees 3 silhouettes of 3 different adults walk towards the office. Two of the adults were carrying a screaming child. One of them held the child by his arms, while the other adult held the tot by his legs. The third adult had her arms full of various papers.

As they walked closer, Rocket could at least identify two of them: The adult carrying the paperwork was the lady that he met earlier who took Groot to his classroom and treated both him and Rocket badly. The other person that Rocket recognized was the screaming toddler, Groot.

The raccoon then realizes that he would be better off if the group that was approaching didn’t see him, especially Groot, since the tiny sapling was probably in enough trouble as it is and he couldn’t imagine what fresh hell awaited Groot when his “caretakers” at the orphanage found out about his outburst. Rocket hid in a nearby locker and took his cell phone out to record whatever was about to happen.

Groot continued his screaming as the two other adults placed him down and his “aide” made him look at her in the eyes.

“Shut up.” She hissed at him. “You were a bad boy with your speech therapist today, were you not?” 

Groot looked at her angrily.

“Yes, you were.” She answered for him. She then got out a computer-like device that was meant to help him communicate better with everyone around him out of it’s carrying bag and held it up to the angry little tree. “Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Groot looked insulted by the device that he was forced to talk through instead of letting him use his own voice. Was everyone at this school too stubborn to understand him the way Rocket understands him? Groot wasn’t going to have anymore of this and knocks the communication device out of his aide’s hands, making it fall to the floor, shattering the screen and ruining the device. 

His aide got angry with him and promptly slapped him across his face. Groot then responded in kind and returned the slap. His aide then got furious with him and brought out a remote and pressed one of the buttons. Groot then let out a helpless little yelp before he collapsed to the ground and writhed in agony on the floor from the shock that he got from the collar around his neck.

“Throw him in the time out room.” His aide instructed the other adults who picked a still-shaking Groot as she opened the door to a tiny semi-soundproof room that only had a small light as they threw Groot into it and locked him in.

She straightened her dress. “Let him stay in there all day. He needs to learn how to treat others with respect. Don’t worry, his caregivers at the orphanage will hear about this.” She added as she and the other adults walked away.

As soon as the adults were gone and out of earshot, Rocket came out of hiding. He went up to the nearby camera and hacked it, so that it and every other camera throughout the school wouldn’t be working and no one could see what he was doing. He heard muffled crying coming from the time out room. He used one of the keys to open up the door to find Groot huddled on the floor curled up into a tiny ball, still shaking and feeling the after effects of being tasered.

“Hey, hey.” Rocket picked Groot up and placed him in his lap as the tree shook as he cried. “You’re okay, no one’s gonna hurt you.” He said soothingly to Groot as Groot stopped crying and shaking.

“I am Groot.” The sapling meekly said as he looked at Rocket. 

“I know. The people around here are jerks.” Rocket agreed with his son. “You’re a good kid. Why would anyone want to treat you like this is beyond me.”

“I am Groot.” Groot told Rocket of how everyone here and at the orphanage treats him on a daily basis. This horrifies Rocket and strengthens his resolve to win Groot’s custody. 

The rest of the school day passes by. Rocket then has to leave the room so that no one knows that he spent the day with Groot. Groot’s aide comes by the room with his backpack and jacket and takes Groot out of the time out room and back to the orphanage where Rocket was 1,000% sure that Groot was going to have a bad night when the people over at the orphanage found out what he did today.

When Rocket got home, he didn’t even acknowledge the other Guardians and went directly to his room to think things over. 

There was a message waiting for him on his phone. He played the message back: It was the lawyer. His lawyer had good news, he was able to convince the judge to move up the date of the hearing to tomorrow. Meaning that if he played his cards right and he became Groot’s legal guardian, Groot would be home by tomorrow night.

Another bright side to this latest development was that since the case revolved around Groot and Groot’s wellbeing was integral to said case, that he had to be brought to the courtroom in person so that the judge could see what condition he was in both physically and mentally. Meaning that Groot would have to stay home from preschool tomorrow to go to the hearing and if Rocket won the case, one of the first things he’d do for Groot was to pull him from that preschool and enroll him somewhere where he would be treated as an equal to everyone else.

He went downstairs to tell the others what just happened.

The next day, Rocket shows up to court. He is dressed in the most formal suit that he owns, but he still looks like a circus animal. The fact that the suit was extremely itchy and uncomfortable to him didn’t help matters much.

“Now I know why Groot hates wearing clothes of any kind.” He said quietly to himself as he walked down the aisle of the courtroom and placed his leather briefcase onto the table.

As Rocket took his seat at the table, he took a look around at the scene. The people from the orphanage were seated at the table on the other side of the room. They were soon joined by another person pushing a baby stroller. This stroller contained a very scared and anxious Groot, who was dressed in the orphanage’s jumpsuit so that he could look “presentable” instead of him wearing nothing which he much preferred.

As Groot’s caretaker parked his stroller at their table, Groot saw Rocket and began to squirm in his stroller. Unfortunately, since he was buckled into the stroller and his hands were too small to undo the restraints, he was unable to move much except move his tiny little arms and cry to be held in Rocket’s arms again.

Suddenly, Rocket felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t let that get you down.” The voice said. Rocket turned around and saw the rest of the Guardians sitting in back of him.

“You guys didn’t have to come here.” Rocket said as he tried to fight back tears. “I- I’m fine.” He added as he shuffled around some papers.

“Rocket. We know how much getting Groot back means to you.” Gamora told him. “We didn’t want you to be here alone.” She added as the judge walked in and the hearing began.

“Alright. We’re here today to discuss the wellbeing of Orphan 89P15, otherwise known as Groot.” The judge, who went by the name of Gru’nok began as Groot smiled as he heard his name. “But for the purposes of this hearing, will be referred to by 89P15.” Groot’s smile then disappeared from his face as the judge didn’t even consider him a person, just a number. “Now, my first question before we start the testimonies, is does Orphan 89P15 have a prospective family that’s willing to adopt him?”

The owner of the orphanage stood up to address the court. “Yes, Your Honor, he does. They’re here in court right now.” He motioned to two other plant-like beings seated just behind them.

“Those two aren’t Flora Colossi.” Peter whispered. “Look at them, they don’t even look like Groot.” He observed as the judge slammed his gavel calling for all chatter to stop.

The testimonials began. First up was the orphanage. The owners told the court of how much a “Problem Child” Groot is and how he must remain in their care until they find the “perfect” family for him. Rocket sighs and rolls his eyes at this statement, knowing that it’s all a lie.

A while later, it was Rocket’s turn to testify. He tells the court that Groot isn’t a “Problem Child” as the orphanage makes it sound like. Rocket then delves into how the adults and the other children at the orphanage treat Groot on a daily basis. He then tells of how the preschool treats Groot when he goes there and plays the video that he took when he saw Groot’s one-on-one aide and two school officers treat Groot as if he was a criminal by zapping him through his shock collar and promptly throwing him into a time-out room.

“Thank you, Subject 89P13, you may take your seat now.” The judge ordered Rocket as the raccoon went back to his table and sat down.

“I will now go back to my chamber and decide the fate of Orphan 89P15.” The judge got up and walked back to his chambers.

An hour later, the judge returned to the courtroom to deliver his final verdict.

“I’m going to keep this short and sweet.” The judge began as he noticed that Groot was tired and about to fall asleep in his stroller. “In the end, the fate of this child is very clear to me. Even though I personally don’t agree with his parenting methods, I hereby award custody and full parental rights of Orphan 89P15 to Subject 89P13 and his associates. Bailiff, if you could reunite the child with his rightful family.” He proudly announced as he slammed his gavel down to make it official.

One of the officers in the courtroom walked over to the orphanage’s table to collect Groot. He then pushed a happy little tree over to Rocket and friends.

“I am Groot!” Groot excitedly said as the Bailiff undid the seat belts to his stroller and the sapling stood up at lightning speed to hug Rocket, his now official dad.

“Alright.” The raccoon said as he picked up Groot to carry him to the car. “You deserved it. We’ll go home and watch The Fast and the Furious.”

[grootiez]

Family

When Rocket tries to enroll Groot into a prestigious preschool, he discovers the people in charge there don’t have Groot’s best interests in mind. When they forcibly remove Groot from the only family that he’s ever known, Rocket will stop at nothing in order to get him back. 

But time is of the essence: If Rocket fails to prove that Groot should be reunited with his family and that Rocket should be given full parental rights and allowed to formally adopt Groot as his son, they might never see Groot ever again.

“I am Groot.” The little tree said as he tugged on his tie and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Look, I know that you don’t like clothes.” Rocket told him as he straightened the tie that Groot was wearing. “But Quill is paying a lot of money to get you the finest education at the most prestigious preschool on Xandar.” He continued as Groot tried to take off his tie. Rocket then picks Groot up and places him on his lap. “Here, let me help you out.” Rocket then scratches Groot’s back to provide him some relief from wearing the suit that Peter insisted that he wore today to the interview from the Headmistress of the preschool. “There, better?”

“I am Grooooot.” Groot said blissfully as Rocket’s claws scratched his back.

“I know that Star-Munch doesn’t understand that you don’t like clothes.” Rocket reasssured Groot as he straightened Groot’s tie again and placed the tiny tree back on his own seat and Groot sat down. “But, if all goes well, and you get accepted into this preschool, with the type of hoity-toity people they are, you might have to wear a uniform to this school and sit like this.” The rodent mocking how wealthy people sit with one arm held upright with the wrist slightly bent downwards and Rocket’s head was held high as if everyone else was beneath him. Groot giggled and mocked Rocket’s body language as the door to the office that they were in opened.

“Subject 89P-” The Headmistress began as she stepped inside and closed the door.

“Uh, it’s Rocket now, ma’am.” Rocket corrected her as she sat behind her desk and took out some papers.

“Rocket…” She said as if it was in a different language. “I understand that you want to enroll your son into our school.”

“I am Groot.” The sapling introduced himself as he stood up on the chair and leaned over on the desk and held out his hand to shake the Headmistress’ hand.

“Nice to meet you, Groot.” She returned his handshake. Groot then sat back down as she looked at Rocket. “Now, are you his nanny?” 

“Nanny?” Rocket was taken aback at the word. Groot held back his laughter at the word. “No, lady, I’m NOT his nanny.”

“Then what are you?” She replied coldly. “The well-trained house pet?” Groot then let out a giggle.

“WHAT?” Rocket snarled as he resisted the urge to pull out the mini-blaster he snuck by the school’s extensive security check-in process, which DID include metal detectors, as well as a full-body pat-down and cavity search by the school resource officers. “I’m his father. HIS FATHER!” Rocket repeated the phrase a little bit louder in case she didn’t hear him the first time.

“Alright.” The Headmistress sighed as she began to write something down. “Now, back to Groot. What’s his IQ level?”

Rocket looks at Groot. He never had Groot’s intelligence tested before. “Well, uh, well...”

“I am Groot.” Groot said with pride as the Headmistress looked at him.

“He just recited his ABC’s.” Rocket told her as Groot grabbed a piece of paper and began to draw a picture on it and color it in.

“He does have an eye for art though.” The Headmistress looked at what he was doing and was amazed. “Did you teach him that yourself?”

“I am Groot.” Groot responded.

“No. He watches this Bob Ross guy on TV.” Rocket added as the Headmistress doesn’t look impressed. “I know, it’s an old show, but he loves it.”

“I am Groot!” Groot proudly exclaimed as he held the picture up.

“Is that all he can say?” She asked concernedly.

Rocket looked at Groot lovingly as he picked him up and placed Groot on his lap. “No, he can also say ‘we’ and ‘are’ on occasion too.”

“Well, communication between the staff and pupils is paramount to student success when they graduate from preschool and move on to kindergarten.” The Headmistress said snobbishly. “If Groot is unwilling to converse in more complex sentence structures-.”

“I never said that Groot was unwilling to talk to other people.” Rocket snapped back. “I was going to say that Groot can’t talk like you or I can.”

“That can be fixed.” The Headmistress began. “We have some of the finest speech therapists on Xandar that can cure Groot of his ‘problem.’ If that doesn’t work, we have some other ‘methods’ that will work.” She finished as she reached over her desk to hold Groot’s hand. Groot is scared of her and cowers in Rocket’s arms.

“What ‘methods’ are you talkin’ about here, lady?” Rocket wondered with a little bit of fear in his voice.

“Well, anything from having Groot either writing down his thoughts on a whiteboard or pointing to various pictures in a book to teaching him how to use a computer that would do the talking for him, or in the most desperate case, we will hire a one-on-one aide for Groot to have throughout the day that will be there to translate his thoughts, and if necessary, place him in a separate classroom where it would be just him, his aide, and a teacher all day in a room away from the other students to prevent them from taunting and bullying him because of his “differences.” If all of that fails, we would do our best to transfer him to a school that would be better equipped to handle his needs.” The Headmistress explained as she showed Rocket various pictures of other students using the aforementioned devices and programs offered by the school.

The idea of forcing Groot to either have an aide do the talking for him or input what he was saying into a specially-designed device or point to various pictures  in a book to even having to write down what he was trying to say on a whiteboard (especially when Groot couldn’t read or write yet.) didn’t sit too well with Rocket. 

Another thing that Rocket wasn’t so sure of was the fact of isolating Groot from all of the other students and placing him in a tiny room all day where, at the most he’ll only see at the maximum 3 adults all day, all because Groot couldn’t talk like everyone else and them probably ostracizing him over it.

Rocket then looked at Groot and Groot looked back at him.

“I’m sorry, but I think that we’ll be enrolling Groot somewhere else.” Rocket looked the Headmistress in the eye as he got up and placed Groot on the floor. “Thank you for your time.” He shook her hand as she opened the door for him. Rocket then grabbed Groot’s hand and they walked out of the office and went home.

As Rocket carried Groot back to the house, (The Milano was in the shop for repairs and Peter suggested that they needed somewhere to call home when they were not out on missions and he was tired of staying in expensive Xandarian hotels when they had nowhere else to stay.) he couldn’t help but seethe at how he and Groot were treated. He would let the others know of what happened at the preschool.

“We’re home!” Rocket called out to the others as he opened the door carrying an exhausted Groot in one arm (Rocket forgot that since Groot was only a baby and that his legs weren’t as long as they were when he was big, he got tired easily and couldn’t go as far and since Rocket didn’t bring Groot’s stroller with him on the way to the preschool. He wanted to prove that Groot was a “Big Boy” and not a baby anymore, even though he still slept in a crib, wasn’t potty-trained yet, still needed to eat in a high chair, among other things. Groot was already tired as they crossed from the street that the preschool was on. Rocket promised to Groot that he wouldn’t tire him out like that again.)  Rocket then throws the house keys into a bowl that was on a table beside the door. “Hm, guess no one is home...” He said to Groot as he set Groot down on the floor.

“I AM GROOOOOT!!!!!” The pint-sized tree’s shouts echoed throughout the house as he ran to the kitchen to grab a snack.

“So much for being tired...” Rocket chuckled to himself as he watches Groot run throughout the house, realizing that Groot was only “pretending” to be “tired” so Rocket would have to carry him home.

“I AM GROOOoooOOOT!!!!” The tiny tree shouted from the top of his lungs as he took off the monkey suit that he was forced to wear today as he kept running throughout the house, waving the pieces in glee above his head before he tossed them away. 

Groot then made another mad dash towards the kitchen, this time he used a chair to climb up to the cupboard where he knew Peter and Rocket hid his favorite candy.

“I am Groot.” Groot said with a cheeky smile on his face as he ate a piece of the candy in what seemed like slow motion.

What Groot failed to notice was the label on the packaging of the candy that said “SUGAR-FREE, FAT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN-FRIENDLY CANDY.” Rocket then got a bright idea.

“Sure, Groot. Eat as much candy as you want.” Rocket encouraged his son as he winked at him.

Groot being unable to read, didn’t understand the words written on the candy bag. All he noticed were all the bright colors on it. So he ate all the candy that was in the bag. Groot, thinking that he was on a sugar high, continued his rampage throughout the house as the front door opened and the other Guardians came back from doing their errands for the day.

“There he is!” His favorite person, Gamora greeted him as she squatted down and held out her arms as Groot ran and leaped into them.

“I am Groot!” Groot said excitedly as he hugged Gamora as she picked him up.

She played with Groot for a couple of minutes before he wanted to be put back down. Groot then doesn’t feel well and lets out a tiny fart.

“Ugh, what is that smell?” Drax asked as he brought in some stuff from the car.

“Rocket, did you change Groot after you two got back home from the preschool?” Peter asked the raccoon as he pinched his nose.

“Yes I did, Star-Dump.” Rocket lied.

“Well, he needs another one.” Starlord ordered Rocket as he pointed to Groot’s soiled diaper.

“Oh, no no no no.” Rocket argued. “I was on diaper duty yesterday. Get someone else to do it! Get Kraglin to do it and have him start pulling some weight around here for once!” Rocket barked back as Kraglin snuck into the kitchen to make himself some soup.

“But I dunno how to change a diaper...” Kraglin said as Rocket growled in frustration. Kraglin then saw the cupboard that Rocket and Peter hid all of the candy from Groot was opened. “Uh, Rocket? Did you let Groot have some candy?”

“What kind of parent do you think I am?” Rocket snapped back. “No! Of course not!”

“Uh, huh... Then Groot climbed up on the counter all by himself and helped himself to as much candy as he wanted?” Starlord interrogated.

“Yeah! That’s why we need child locks on everything around here, but no, you said that Groot knows better.” Rocket retaliated. “Well, what now?”

Starlord can clearly see through Rocket’s lies. “Uh, huh. And who was supposed to put the locks on everything, huh? Including all of the weapons, equipment, and especially the ‘Death Buttons’ Groot has taken a certain liking towards?”

“OH, FINE! I was supposed to Groot-proof the house, okay, Star-Munch?” Rocket confessed. “But he did climb up on the counter by himself.”

Drax walks over to the counter where the candy bag was. “And was the dumb tree being punished for running throughout the house by you giving him the disgusting sugar-free candy?”

“What? No, I would never do such a thing.” Rocket’s lie was unraveling rapidly.

“Rocket.” Gamora said disapprovingly. “You should know more than anybody here that Groot can’t have the sugar-free candy. Shame on you.”

“Oh, wait a second!” Starlord starts to piece everything together. “Rocket wanted to get back at us for making him actually act like a father, so he let Groot eat the candy, knowing that he would get an upset stomach and would need a diaper change. He then pretends that he’s too busy with other things to actually take care of Groot. So, he would make one of us change Groot’s diaper as an act of revenge. Isn’t that right, Mr. Father of the Year?”

“No! I pull my weight here with the damn twig.” Rocket argued. “I have to do everything around here!”

“Hm, let’s ask the twig, then.” Peter challenges as he kneeled on one knee to get down to Groot’s eye-level. “Groot, did Rocket tell you to keep eating the candy even though he knew that you would get a upset tummy?” 

Groot then nods at Starlord. Rocket then grabs the fur on top of his head and growls.

“Hehe.” Peter chuckled as Rocket picked Groot up and carried him to his nursery. “Oh, yeah, how about you take the garbage outside after you’re finished with Groot and live up to your name, Mr. Trash Panda?” 

Rocket mutters something under his breath as he slams the door closed.

Later that evening, the Guardians gathered around the TV to watch a movie. Rocket brings a freshly cleaned Groot (Starlord said that it was okay for Rocket to bathe Groot in his brand-new Jacuzzi as long as he didn’t let Groot use it as a giant toilet or ruin it in any other way.) out of his room.

“There he is!” Peter said playfully to Groot as Rocket closed the door leading to their shared room which acted as a nursery for now.

“I AM GROOOOOT!!!!!!” The tiny tree yelled playfully as Rocket placed him on the floor and Groot charged at the other Guardians who were sitting on the couch.

“Oh, you got me!” Starlord pretends to be injured as Groot punches him in his stomach playfully.

“Alright Mr. Killer Tree, that’s enough.” Rocket said as he picked Groot up and sat down with Groot in his lap. “So, what’re we watching tonight?”

“I believe that the movie we’re going to be watching is Mary Poppins.” Peter said as he held up the DVD case for the others to see. Kraglin, Drax, and Rocket cheered as Gamora joined them with a bowl of buttered popcorn from Terra.

“Cap’n woulda loved to watch this movie.” Kraglin said as a tear formed in his eye. The other Guardians nodded in silence.

Groot, however, wasn’t impressed.

“I am Groot.” He said with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“Groot, we’ve been over this.” Rocket began. “You said that it was okay if we had a family movie night and you would only miss a couple of episodes of Bob Ross. Heck, Star-Dork even promised you that you could watch them later, okay? So can we watch the movie without you getting upset and throwing a tantrum?” Rocket begged.

Groot thought about it for a moment. “I am Groot.” He said quietly as he nodded his head. 

“Don’t worry, Groot, you’re going to love the movie.” Gamora reassured him. “It’s fun, there’s a few good songs, and I think you’ll love the dancing.”

“I am Groot.” Groot said as he looked at Rocket.

“What do you mean by ‘Next week we better watch Fast and Furious.’!?!?” Rocket asked, shocked by Groot’s statement. “You’re much too young for that kind of movie.”

“I am Groot.” The tree argued with his arms crossed. “I am Groot.” He added to his demand as he held up a Terran magazine and pointed to a picture in it as he handed it to Rocket.

“I know that Vin Diesel is your role model.” Rocket told Groot as he looked at the magazine. “It’s just, what those movies are about and what they show, I don’t think that they’re appropriate for a young sapling like you.” Rocket placed his hand on Groot’s shoulder in a fatherly manner. “How about next week we watch The Iron Giant?”

Peter then looked at Rocket as he knew how that movie ended.

“Problem, Star-Chump?” Rocket looked at Peter.

“Uh, Rocket...” He began, he then whispered in Rocket’s ear how The Iron Giant  ends and how it would reawaken memories of that fateful day on Xandar.

“Okay, we won’t watch The Iron Giant then. And thanks for spoiling the movie for me, Star-Munch.” Rocket told the others. “But don’t worry, Groot. We’ll find a Vin Diesel movie that’s right for you. Now let’s watch Mary Poppins before it gets too late.” The raccoon said as Peter put in the movie.

As they’re watching the movie, both Kraglin and Peter tear up when Mary Poppins appears, as her flying in on her umbrella reminded them of Yondu. Mantis and Gamora both liked how motherly she treated the children. Rocket, surprisingly, took it all in, even the songs and cheesy parts, which shocked everyone, especially since they thought Rocket was all rough and tough and didn’t know that he had a soft side. Drax, as suspected, didn’t understand any of it, forcing Starlord to explain everything.

The only unappreciative person in the group was Groot, who got bored after “Spoonful of Sugar” and started to get antsy. He got up, climbed down from Rocket’s lap, and grabbed the bowl of popcorn and took a handful of popcorn and ate a piece. Forgetting that he hated the taste of popcorn, he spit it out and threw it at Drax, who didn’t even flinch. Groot smiled at discovering a new game. He then grabbed another handful (or in Groot’s case, an armful) of popcorn and continued to chuck each one at Drax. 

This continues for a bit thanks to Drax falling asleep on the couch, and since he’s a heavy sleeper and snores loudly, he doesn’t even flinch as Groot flings the popcorn at him. Drax woke up only after a piece of popcorn hits him in the face, near his mouth.

“Ungh...” Drax stretched as he yawns. He then looks at all of the popcorn that landed on his bare chest and pajama pants. He then bursts into laughter. “Hahahaha! So my dream was real!” He continued his laughing until Groot climbed up onto him and slapped him on his face.

“Groot!” Gamora said, shocked by his behavior as Peter paused the movie. “What was that for?”

“I am Groot.” The tree said stubbornly. “I am Groot.” He added as he pointed to Drax and frowned at him.

“What do ya mean by ‘Drax started it.’? He was sleeping!” Rocket replied to Groot. “No, no, no. You know what? I’m done arguing with you and you always getting your way. Bedtime, NOW!” Rocket took Groot’s tiny little hand into his paw and began walking him to their room. 

Groot was trying to get free by any means possible: prying Rocket’s firm grip loose from his hand, sitting down on the ground, kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs, hoping Rocket’s raccoon-like frame couldn’t drag him down the hallway, and, since none of that was helping Groot’s cause, Groot began to beg, plead, and even apologize to Rocket, even crying, since he knew no one could resist his puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh, fine!” Rocket conceded. “You can stay up with everyone else!” He got down to Groot’s eye-level. “But, you gotta behave and apologize to Drax for what you did. And I get to read you The Giving Tree tonight.” He added as Groot rolled his eyes. Rocket then stared down Groot in the eyes. “Groot. You have to be punished. I’m doing you a favor by not putting you to bed and letting you stay up late with everyone else. So, what’s your choice? Early bedtime or me reading you The Giving Tree?” 

Groot tilted his head down low. “I am Groot.” He said quietly with a melancholy tone in his voice.

“Thought you would say that.” Rocket said as he carried Groot back to the living room. “Just behave for the rest of the night, ‘kay?” Groot nodded as they entered.

Rocket explained that he and Groot had a talk and that Groot would behave. The others accepted it and watched some TV. 

Groot fell asleep in Rocket’s lap a few minutes later, the evening news lulling him to sleep. Rocket then looked down at the sleeping baby tree in his arms and stroked Groot’s head, caressing his cheek as little snores escaped his mouth. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. Groot stirred in his sleep, only slightly opening his eyes, before Rocket soothed him and Groot was back to Dreamland again.

“I’ll go get it.” Starlord said as he got up from his recliner. “These people need to learn that going from door-to-door to preach whatever god they believe in is just plain stupid and just wastes our time, especially this late at night.” He sighs as he goes to open the door.

As he opened the door, two government agents were standing at the entrance to the house. They had stern looks on their faces and didn’t move an inch.

“Mr. Quill, I’m Agent Zorlok and this is Agent Kri’loch and we know that you’re one of Subject 89P13′s primary contacts.” The tall, skinny agent said as he and his colleague flashed their government-issued ID’s at Quill.

Peter then let out a nervous chuckle. “Haha. Oh, boy. What did he do now?” He  asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Try to get intel on a top secret government project? Is he on Xandar’s Most Wanted? I didn’t catch this week’s episode, but-.”

“Out of the way, sir.” The other agent, Kri’loch rudely ordered him as he shoved Peter out of his way and the agents entered the house. 

“HEY!” Starlord tried to get up. “WE HAVE A BABY IN THIS HOUSE THAT’S TRYING TO GO TO SLEEP AND BY YOU TWO BARGING IN-!” Peter then was tackled by the agents and they fight as they force their way to the living room. The other Guardians hear the commotion coming from the foyer and are on edge from overhearing the exchange. Groot, though, was still fast asleep. 

“ROCKET!” Starlord shouted to the raccoon before Zorlok zapped him with a blast from his stun gun, knocking out Peter. The noise of the gun woke Groot up, who was scared and crying hysterically.

“Hand over the child, vermin.” Kri’loch commanded as he pointed his gun towards Rocket. “Or you’ll end up just like your friend.” He let out a sinister laugh.

Rocket, looking at the other Guardians, hung his head low as he walked over to the two agents. As he was about to hand over a frightened Groot to the agents, he patted Groot on the back and kissed him on the cheek.

“Shh, it’ll be okay, Groot.” Rocket said to Groot as he handed the tiny tree over to the government agents. “I love you, buddy.” He added as Groot was grabbed by the back of his neck like a dog and was taken from him and Rocket walked back to the others, his head low and tail trailing behind him.

“Stand down!” Zorlok commanded as he pointed his gun at the other Guardians, who, except Starlord, who was still unconscious from the stun gun, had their weapons drawn as Rocket rejoined them. But Rocket was not in the mood to fight, having to hand over his best friend for some unknown reason. 

“Thought so.” He coldly said as the Guardians put their weapons down to comfort Rocket as the two agents left with Groot in tow.

That night, Rocket couldn’t sleep. He was too traumatized to lay in his bedroom all alone. He looked over at Groot’s crib, saddened to see it empty. Right now, Rocket would either be tucking Groot into bed, singing him a lullaby, calming him down if he awakened from having a bad dream, or reading him a bedtime story.

Oh, that last thought. Rocket got up from bed and walked over towards Groot’s side of the room where his crib, changing table, the rocking chair that Rocket or one of the other Guardians used to rock Groot to sleep sometimes, and his toy box was. Most of the toys that were supposed to be put in the toy box were strewn out all over the floor. Just like a normal toddler’s room. Rocket picked up one of the toys only to place it back on the floor. It didn’t feel right to put the toys back into the toy box and not have Groot take it back out moments later. 

The raccoon then approached Groot’s crib. The bedsheets on the crib were neatly made as if the crib hasn’t been used yet. Since Rocket had to wake Groot up early to go to that interview for that prestigious preschool that Peter said Groot should be enrolled in, he didn’t have time to make Groot do his chores and make his bed. So he did it himself to save time and so they wouldn’t be late. Thinking back on it, that interview was probably a gigantic waste of time considering how the staff, and especially the Headmistress treated both Rocket and Groot while they were there. When they got home from the preschool, Groot was too hyped up to be put down for his afternoon nap, which, in hindsight, was probably why he was so stubborn during the movie tonight.

Rocket looked at the crib again, running his paw along the crisp, clean sheets. He stopped when he got to Groot’s pillow. The pillow had a little impression of a tiny Flora Collosus’ head where Groot would lay his head at night. The pillow still had Groot’s scent on it. Rocket then shifted his gaze towards the teddy bear next to the pillow. This was Groot’s favorite toy and if he didn’t have it, Groot wouldn’t feel at home. The teddy bear was a gift from Peter who had it when he was a child on Terra and had it in his bookbag the night he left Earth. He gave Groot the teddy bear the day Groot resprouted to make him feel safe at nighttime. Rocket picked both the pillow and teddy bear up and tucked them under his arms.

Rocket then approached the bookshelf where all of Groot’s stories were placed, albeit messily and disorganized. The only form of organization that there was, was by the books’ conditions. The books on the top were Groot’s favorites, as they have been heavily used and the pages were worn, and in some cases, torn to the point were they were almost unreadable. The books on the bottom were brand-new, except for the dust collecting on them, almost as if they weren’t even used yet. These were Groot’s least favorite stories. 

Rocket took out the book on the very bottom of the stack. This one had the most dust on it out of all of the other books. It was The Giving Tree, Groot’s least favorite book. As Rocket flipped through the pages, he can’t help but reminisce about the first time he read the book and the second time he read it, this time with Groot. Groot didn’t like the story much, but Rocket did, as the boy reminded him so much of himself, and the tree reminded him of Groot.

Rocket then took the book, teddy bear, and pillow over to Groot’s crib and climbed up on it. He placed the pillow in its usual place and propped up the teddy bear on the pillow and pulled up the blankets to the teddy bear, almost as if he was tucking Groot into his bed. He then looks at the book in his lap and runs his paw across the title. Rocket tries to hold back the tears as he opened up the book. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Rocket?” The door creeked slightly open. Peter was standing in the doorway. “Hey, buddy, what’cha doing?”

“None of your business, Star-Lump.” Rocket said as he sighed. Peter walks into his room and joins him in sitting on Groot’s bed.

Starlord saw that Rocket wasn’t coping well with not having Groot around. He pats the raccoon on his head. “I miss him too. He must be missing all of us right now. Alone and scared in some unknown place.”

“I know.” Rocket started to sob. “And I’m not there to protect him!” He dug his face into Peter’s chest to muffle his crying.

“We’ll find a way to bring him back home.” Starlord reassured Rocket as he stood up, but still had his hand on Rocket’s shoulder. “Hey, if you feel lonely in here, you can sleep in my room tonight.”

“Thanks, Quill, but I’ll be alright on my own.” Rocket said as Quill left for his room for the night.

An hour later, Quill is awakened by the sound of his door opening and a few seconds later, a raccoon-like body scurrying up onto his bed and curling up next to him in the darkness. Quill was about to speak when a single claw-like finger was placed against his lips.

“Say anything and die.” A voice warned him. Peter then went back to sleep.

The next morning, the Guardians were gathered around the kitchen table, eating breakfast. They were having waffles, bacon, sausage, cheese grits, toast, honey, jam, orange juice and coffee.

They were having a boisterous conversation about something, but Rocket didn’t feel like talking much. He just stared at his coffee, taking a spoon and mindlessly stirring it, lost in thought. Rocket then looks up from his coffee mug, which Groot made for him with the help of Gamora. It had a hand-drawn picture  of Groot and Rocket crudely etched into it with the words “I am Groot” above the picture. But Rocket knew that it meant “#1 Dad”. The raccoon’s focus then shifted from the coffee mug to Groot’s high chair, which sat empty in the corner.

The raccoon then excuses himself from the table and takes his coffee down to his workshop to work on a new prototype gun or something.

After an uncomfortable amount of silence, Mantis speaks up.

“This is really bothering the Crabby Puppy, isn’t it?” She said worriedly as she glanced towards his workshop.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen Rocket this upset since-.” Kraglin trailed off his sentence.

“I got an idea.” Drax sat up straight and puffed out his chest. “Gamora, may I see your phone?” He asked as Gamora handed over her cell phone.

“What are you doing?” She asked as Drax tries to figure out how the phone worked.

“Getting help.” He responded as he found the number he wanted to dial. “I’m calling your sister.” He places the phone on speaker.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Gamora said as she got up as she heard her sister’s answering machine message play. It was about her thirst for vengeance against her father. Gamora snatches her phone back. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” The Destroyer asked. 

“One, she’s a wanted criminal. Two, she’s hellbent on one thing, and one thing only, and three, why would she even want to help you or Rocket in the first place?” The green woman questioned Drax. “You’re only wasting your time.” She added as she sat back down.

“Ugh, fine.” Peter sighed as he got up. “I’ll go talk to him.” 

Peter climbed down into the basement where Rocket’s workshop is. As he opened the door, the room was empty, the toy “Death Button” Rocket was working on for Groot to distract him from playing with the real “Death Buttons” was sitting on his workbench, halfway finished.

As he looked around the room, Peter saw the tiny window leading from the basement was open, a gentle breeze moving the curtain back and forth.

Rocket was nowhere to be found.

The hustle and bustle of Xandar in the morning was quite hectic. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, people going every which way up and down the sidewalks, frequently bumping into each other. 

Among them was a very depressed cybernetically-enhanced raccoon dressed in an orange jumpsuit that was walking on his hind legs as if he was a person. The raccoon hung his head low and dragged his feet as he walked, clearly saddened by something.

But no one cared about the raccoon’s feelings, as wherever they had to be was more important to them. This was apparently evident in one obese alien lady with 6 kids, who was clearly in a hurry to go wherever she needed to with her kids as she shoved the raccoon to the ground as she rushed past with her kids.

“Stupid trash panda, move!” She ignorantly spat at the creature as she went on her way.

The raccoon then looked at her. “THAT’S MR. TRASH PANDA TO YOU, LADY!” He snarled back. “AND MY NAME IS ROCKET, BY THE WAY!” It was too late, she wasn’t within earshot anymore.

Rocket got himself up off of the ground and dusted himself off. He spat in the direction the lady went and flipped her off. He looked around at his surroundings to get an idea of where he was in the city. There was a tall, imposing building in front of him with a gigantic yard to the side. The yard had grass, a swingset, a basketball court for the older kids/teens, a few sandboxes set off to the sides, and a fairly impressive playground. There was a tall fence with a barbed wire and electrified spikes at the top surrounding the yard. 

“This looks more like a prison than anything.” He said quietly to himself.

Rocket then heard the cacophony of children of various ages playing and laughing with each other under the supervision of adults. The playground and basketball court were filled with activity, as expected, the swings had a few of the little kids playing on it, while the rest of the kids played various games on the grass. The sandboxes were deserted, no pun intended. 

Rocket watched the children in the yard. Just as he was about to leave, a tiny child walked to the sandbox that was right on the inside of the fence, opposite Rocket. This child looked lonely and dejected. The child sat in the sandbox, not looking up or around at anything, even the weird raccoon creature on the other side of the fence.

As Rocket looked at the depressed child, he couldn’t help but notice that this child looked and behaved a lot like Groot when he would get sad. The only thing that separated this child from Groot was the uniform that the child was wearing. But other than that, Rocket thinks that the similarities were too much.

“Groot?” Rocket asked the child. “Is- is that y-you?” His voice breaking as he is overcome with emotion.

The child then looked up, and then looks at Rocket. His eyes fill with tears. “I am Groot.” He said quietly so no one else could hear.

Rocket was speechless. He has found his best friend and adopted son! He had a million questions for him. Rocket tries to hug Groot through the fence, but the thick plexiglass in between the bars prevented this.

“Gr-Groot. When did you get here?”

“I am Groot.” Groot responded. Of course the scary agents would’ve brought him here, as it was the closest place for ‘children in distress’.”

“Well, what about the other kids and adults?” Rocket asked Groot. “Do they treat you good?”

A tear formed in Groot’s eye as he hung his head low and shook it. Rocket saw how rejected Groot felt by the other children and the adults that cared for him. He didn’t even have one friend here.

Groot then tugged at his uniform, trying to scratch his back.

“Groot, Groot.” Rocket ushered the young sapling closer to the fence. “Here, let me help you take that monkey suit off.”

“I am Groot!” The tree responded, terror in his voice.

“What do you mean by ‘You get in trouble every time you try to take it off.’?” Rocket asked. “What do they do to you?”

Groot then pulled back his shirt collar, revealing a shock collar around his neck. He then makes a motion of someone pushing a remote control and Groot then mimics the shocking sensation he gets whenever one of the adults presses the button.

“Oh... my... god...” Rocket said as he realizes what Groot is telling him. “Groot, do you know what this place is called?” Groot points up to a sign on the gate that said in Xandarian script “Children’s Hope Orphanage”. 

Groot then hurried over to one of the adults in the yard as they blew their whistle for the kids to come inside. Groot casts one last look at Rocket before he is taken inside.

Rocket then rushed back home to tell the other Guardians what he found out.

Rocket came home to find the other Guardians searching from him. He then caught their attention.

“Rocket, where were you? We have been-.” Peter was then hushed by Rocket.

“Cut the crap, Quill.” Rocket said as he entered the house. “I found out where Groot was taken to and I need to get him out.”

“Where is he?” Mantis inquires as Rocket sits down on the couch. “Is he okay?”

“He was taken to Children’s Hope Orphanage. Apparently the government considers a raccoon an unfit parent for a Flora Collosus and since there’s no other known members of his spiecies, they’ve put him in that prison that they consider an ‘orphanage’ until some other kind of plant spiecies comes forward to adopt him.” The raccoon told them as he got off the couch and went to a safe hidden in the wall behind a family portrait of the Guardians. “Since the odds of that or some other thing happening are low, I’m going to bail him out.” Rocket then opens the safe that was filled with various guns, rifles, pistols, shotguns, etc. He takes out a mini blaster and loads it. 

“WOAH! WOAH! WOAH!” Starlord exclaimed as he shuts the safe and took the gun away from Rocket. “Not like that you’re not. We’re going to do this the legal way, with a lawyer.”

“No, we’re not!” Rocket fired back. “You haven’t seen the place that they put Groot in. It feels like a prison. Groot is treated like a prisoner by the adults and the other kids.” Rocket then explains what he saw today.

“Rocket, look.” Peter started. “We’re going to try our best to get Groot out of there. But it’ll be tough. Since the orphanage is run by the Nova Corps, they’ll have access to the best lawyers money can buy. It’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Kraglin is sitting in Yondu’s old E-Z chair, eating some tomato soup that would surely stain and ruin the chair that Yondu handed down to him should he ever die in battle. “I got an idea, Cap’n.” 

“What is it?” Starlord sat down so Kraglin could have the floor.

“I say let Rocket do his own sort of investigatin’ while you do the thing with the lawyer and combined, we might have somethin’.” Kraglin suggested. “But no guns.” He added as Rocket handed over a pistol to Peter.

Rocket excused himself to go to bed.

The next day, Rocket walked back to the “orphanage” he found Groot was at to find out more about how Groot was being treated there. He walks up to the 20 foot tall barbed-wire fence and looks at the play yard. Sure enough, the same kids that were there the day before, with one noticeable difference: Groot was nowhere to be found.

“Hey, kid! KID!” Rocket called out to a chubby youngster about Groot’s age. The kid walked over to the raccoon. The kid, like all of the other children, wasn’t wearing the uniform and shock collar that Groot was wearing yesterday. Leading to the suspicion that Rocket of the adults restricting Groot’s freedom.

“What do you want, freak?” The kid, who went by the name of Billy spat at Rocket as he ate an ice cream cone.

Rocket kept his cool, even though the name calling irritated him. “Have you seen a tiny tree ‘bout this high around here?” Rocket held his flat palm up to his hip, which is how tall Groot is. Billy looked confused. “Okay, have you seen a tiny tree around here?” Rocket gets out his wallet to show him a picure of Groot.

Billy didn’t answer. He was more interested in the fat wad of cash in Rocket’s wallet. He held out his hand to the raccoon.

“What? Oh, FINE! HERE! A 1,000 UNITS!” Rocket handed the spoiled brat the money through the fence. “Now tell me where Groot is.”

On cue, Billy ran away from the fence to the other children who pointed and laughed at Rocket.

Seething, Rocket walked away to go home when the doors to the orphanage opened. Instinctively, Rocket dodged and hid behind a set of trash cans. Moments later, two ladies who worked there were holding a screaming toddler dressed in a uniform by his arms, one arm each being held by each woman and the toddler’s feet were being dragged along the hot concrete sidewalk. One lady had a child-sized backpack slung across one of her shoulders. The backpack had a crest emblazoned on the smaller front pocket. The same crest that was sewn on the toddler’s navy blue blazer.

“Shut up and behave.” The other lady snarled at the child. “You’re going to school whether you like it or not. Now, let’s go or you’re going to be late for your first day of preschool.”

They then crossed the street to the school in question and took the toddler inside. This preschool was all too familiar to Rocket: It was the preschool that they visited the other day. 

It all then clicked for Rocket. The screaming toddler being dragged to the preschool was in fact Groot and the orphanage found someway to enroll him there.

Rocket then runs back home to tell the others what he saw.

“Guys! Guys!” Rocket exclaimed as he entered the house.

“What is it, Rocket?” Starlord asked as he handed the exhausted raccoon a bottle of water.

“The people in charge of Groot at the orphanage have enrolled him at preschool.” Rocket explained as he took a sip of water.

“Oh, thatks fantastic. Maybe Groot will make some new friends or something.” Peter told Rocket. “You’re always saying that he needs to interact with kids his age instead of hanging around us. This will help him.”

“No, Quill.” Rocket then looked him dead in the eye. “This is the same preschool that wanted him to be separated from the other kids just because he doesn’t talk normal. He’s probably going through hell now.” He explained as Gamora came out.

“Rocket, I was just on the phone with the our lawyer that we hired for Groot’s custody hearing. He wants to meet with you right now.” Gamora told Rocket.

Rocket nodded and walked back outside and got in the car so he could drive himself to the lawyer’s office.

After a few hours, Rocket returned home. By the looks of things, he had a successful first meeting with his lawyer. He sits down with the other Guardians for dinner.

“So the custody hearing is in a week?” Peter asked as he passed around the salad bowl.

“Yeah. Something about he needs some time to get stuff together. But don’t worry, I have a plan.” Rocket said confidently as he cut into his steak and took a bite of it.

“Oh, here we go.” Peter scoffed. “You and your infamous plans.”

“Hey, at least I GOT a plan!” Rocket fired back. “And it’s a full-fledged plan and not 12% of a plan!” He added, eluding to the time that they saved Xandar from total annihilation. 

“But it worked, didn’t it?” Starlord argued.

Rocket was about to say something, but then excuses himself and goes to his room. He had a plan, and it wasn’t 12% of a plan either.

Rocket walked along the same stretch of sidewalk that he walked before, but instead of stopping by the orphanage, he crossed the street to the entrance of the preschool. He was about to enter the school in his usual clothes when he realizes something.

“Crap!” He said quietly to himself as he hid behind the same set of trash cans that he hid behind yesterday. “I can’t go in looking like this. Think, Rocket, think!”

Just then, one of the school’s custodians came walking by, whistling some sort of song that was terribly out of tune and off-key. Rocket then had an idea. He took his backpack off of his back and got the smallest blaster gun that he owned out. He set it to “stun” and fired it at the janitor. The janitor collapses and writhes in pain until he is rendered unconscious a few seconds later. Rocket then drags the body behind the trash cans and looked at the body. 

Amazingly, the janitor that Rocket attacked was the same size as he was. As Rocket stripped the janitor of his uniform, the raccoon didn’t have to make any adjustments to the jumpsuit to make it fit a raccoon’s body. 

Rocket then took a look at the janitor’s ID card, took out the laptop in his backpack, and with a little help from Photoshop, altered the ID to replace the janitor’s photo with Rocket’s. 

Rocket then clipped the ID badge to his uniform and placed his computer back in his backpack and hid the bag in some bushes behind the school. 

As he was finishing up, he heard a couple of ladies dragging a defiant toddler to the front door of the school. This was Groot. Rocket rushed to the front of the school to greet them.

“Enough!” One of the ladies hissed at Groot. “You know how you’re supposed to behave. Now you’re going to school and that’s it!”

“I am Groot!” The toddler screamed as he tried to break free of their grasp. The other lady then took out what appeared to be a leather switch and raised it above Groot’s head as if to hit him.

“Whoa! Woah! Woah!” Rocket interrupted to get their attention before they hit Groot. “Ladies, I could take him inside for you. I know that he’s late and the Headmistress will certainly give him a detention or take away his recess time, but you two go do your thing and I’ll take care of him.” Rocket said as he winked at Groot. 

The two ladies then gave Rocket a disapproving glance before they left. Rocket then used one of the keys on his keychain to open the door as he and a frightened Groot step inside.

“I am Groot.” Groot said shyly as Rocket closed the door.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t act so scared.” Rocket reassured Groot. “Those mean old ladies are gone now.”

“I am Groot.” Groot whispered as they both heard a classroom door open down one of the hallways. 

“I was only kidding about detention.” Rocket told Groot. “Just to make them leave.”

“I am Groot.” Groot said as he took out a children’s book detailing why he shouldn’t talk to strangers and handed it to Rocket.

“No, I’m not a stranger.” The raccoon told the tiny tree. “You know who I am.” He added as he took off his hat.

Groot’s expression changes and he goes from being on the brink of crying to showing the biggest smile he’s ever had as he hugged Rocket.

“I am Groot!” Groot tries to hide his tears of happiness as he dug his face into Rocket’s chest.

Rocket then pulls Groot away from his chest and looks the sapling in the eye.

“I- I’m sorry, Groot.” Rocket tries to hold back the tears as he looked at Groot. “But I can’t take you home yet.” 

Groot’s expression changed yet again as he started to cry.

“No, no. I do want to take you home, more than anything in the world, actually.” Rocket struggled to tell his best friend. “But I can’t yet.”

“I am Groot?” Groot asked him, staring at the floor.

Rocket searches for the right words. “There’s going to be a meeting soon about who your parents are. I’m going to fight like hell to bring you home and for my right to call you ‘son’ and your right to call me ‘dad’. You just gotta put up with it for a few more days and then we’ll have a big party at the house when you can come home.” 

They then hear a noise and footsteps coming from someone that was wearing high heels. A few seconds later, a tall, skinny woman in a dress approached them. She didn’t look too happy with them, especially Groot.

“There you are!” She scolded Groot as she grabbed his arm. “You’re late for class.” Groot squirmed as she was cutting off blood circulation to his arm by holding it tight like that.

“Wait a second lady, what do you think you’re doing?” Rocket asked her.

“Taking this child to class.” She responded snobbishly. “Now if you’ll excuse me...” She pushed Rocket out of her way as she took a squirming Groot to the classroom.

A couple of hours pass. Rocket is mopping the hallway floors. At first he grumbles, uttering something about this not being what he was meant for. But after a few minutes, he gets over his anger and passes the time humming various songs that he was listening to on Quill’s Zune (that he stole from him this morning.) and dancing with his mop to the beat.

As he was putting another song on, he heard a door from one of the classrooms open. He looks down the hallway and sees 3 silhouettes of 3 different adults walk towards the office. Two of the adults were carrying a screaming child. One of them held the child by his arms, while the other adult held the tot by his legs. The third adult had her arms full of various papers.

As they walked closer, Rocket could at least identify two of them: The adult carrying the paperwork was the lady that he met earlier who took Groot to his classroom and treated both him and Rocket badly. The other person that Rocket recognized was the screaming toddler, Groot.

The raccoon then realizes that he would be better off if the group that was approaching didn’t see him, especially Groot, since the tiny sapling was probably in enough trouble as it is and he couldn’t imagine what fresh hell awaited Groot when his “caretakers” at the orphanage found out about his outburst. Rocket hid in a nearby locker and took his cell phone out to record whatever was about to happen.

Groot continued his screaming as the two other adults placed him down and his “aide” made him look at her in the eyes.

“Shut up.” She hissed at him. “You were a bad boy with your speech therapist today, were you not?” 

Groot looked at her angrily.

“Yes, you were.” She answered for him. She then got out a computer-like device that was meant to help him communicate better with everyone around him out of it’s carrying bag and held it up to the angry little tree. “Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Groot looked insulted by the device that he was forced to talk through instead of letting him use his own voice. Was everyone at this school too stubborn to understand him the way Rocket understands him? Groot wasn’t going to have anymore of this and knocks the communication device out of his aide’s hands, making it fall to the floor, shattering the screen and ruining the device. 

His aide got angry with him and promptly slapped him across his face. Groot then responded in kind and returned the slap. His aide then got furious with him and brought out a remote and pressed one of the buttons. Groot then let out a helpless little yelp before he collapsed to the ground and writhed in agony on the floor from the shock that he got from the collar around his neck.

“Throw him in the time out room.” His aide instructed the other adults who picked a still-shaking Groot as she opened the door to a tiny semi-soundproof room that only had a small light as they threw Groot into it and locked him in. “Let him stay in there all day. He needs to learn how to treat others with respect. Don’t worry, his caregivers at the orphanage will hear about this.” She added as she and the other adults walked away.

As soon as the adults were gone and out of earshot, Rocket came out of hiding. He went up to the nearby camera and hacked it, so that it and every other camera throughout the school wouldn’t be working and no one could see what he was doing. He heard muffled crying coming from the time out room. He used one of the keys to open up the door to find Groot huddled on the floor curled up into a tiny ball, still shaking and feeling the after effects of being tasered.

“Hey, hey.” Rocket picked Groot up and placed him in his lap as the tree shook as he cried. “You’re okay, no one’s gonna hurt you.” He said soothingly to Groot as Groot stopped crying and shaking.

“I am Groot.” The sapling meekly said as he looked at Rocket. 

“I know. The people around here are jerks.” Rocket agreed with his son. “You’re a good kid. Why would anyone want to treat you like this is beyond me.”

“I am Groot.” Groot told Rocket of how everyone here and at the orphanage treats him on a daily basis. This horrifies Rocket and strengthens his resolve to win Groot’s custody. 

The rest of the school day passes by. Rocket then has to leave the room so that no one knows that he spent the day with Groot. Groot’s aide comes by the room with his backpack and jacket and takes Groot out of the time out room and back to the orphanage where Rocket was 1,000% sure that Groot was going to have a bad night when the people over at the orphanage found out what he did today.

When Rocket got home, he didn’t even acknowledge the other Guardians and went directly to his room to think things over. 

There was a message waiting for him on his phone. He played the message back: It was the lawyer. His lawyer had good news, he was able to convince the judge to move up the date of the hearing to tomorrow. Meaning that if he played his cards right and he became Groot’s legal guardian, Groot would be home by tomorrow night.

Another bright side to this latest development was that since the case revolved around Groot and Groot’s wellbeing was integral to said case, that he had to be brought to the courtroom in person so that the judge could see what condition he was in both physically and mentally. Meaning that Groot would have to stay home from preschool tomorrow to go to the hearing and if Rocket won the case, one of the first things he’d do for Groot was to pull him from that preschool and enroll him somewhere where he would be treated as an equal to everyone else.

He went downstairs to tell the others what just happened.

The next day, Rocket shows up to court. He is dressed in the most formal suit that he owns, but he still looks like a circus animal. The fact that the suit was extremely itchy and uncomfortable to him didn’t help matters much.

“Now I know why Groot hates wearing clothes of any kind.” He said quietly to himself as he walked down the aisle of the courtroom and placed his leather briefcase onto the table.

As Rocket took his seat at the table, he took a look around at the scene. The people from the orphanage were seated at the table on the other side of the room. They were soon joined by another person pushing a baby stroller. This stroller contained a very scared and anxious Groot, who was dressed in the orphanage’s jumpsuit so that he could look “presentable” instead of him wearing nothing which he much preferred.

As Groot’s caretaker parked his stroller at their table, Groot saw Rocket and began to squirm in his stroller. Unfortunately, since he was buckled into the stroller and his hands were too small to undo the restraints, he was unable to move much except move his tiny little arms and cry to be held in Rocket’s arms again.

Suddenly, Rocket felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t let that get you down.” The voice said. Rocket turned around and saw the rest of the Guardians sitting in back of him.

“You guys didn’t have to come here.” Rocket said as he tried to fight back tears. “I- I’m fine.” He added as he shuffled around some papers.

“Rocket. We know how much getting Groot back means to you.” Gamora told him. “We didn’t want you to be here alone.” She added as the judge walked in and the hearing began.

“Alright. We’re here today to discuss the wellbeing of Orphan 89P15, otherwise known as Groot.” The judge, who went by the name of Gru’nok began as Groot smiled as he heard his name. “But for the purposes of this hearing, will be referred to by 89P15.” Groot’s smile then disappeared from his face as the judge didn’t even consider him a person, just a number. “Now, my first question before we start the testimonies, is does Orphan 89P15 have a prospective family that’s willing to adopt him?”

The owner of the orphanage stood up to address the court. “Yes, Your Honor, he does. They’re here in court right now.” He motioned to two other plant-like beings seated just behind them.

“Those two aren’t Flora Colossi.” Peter whispered. “Look at them, they don’t even look like Groot.” He observed as the judge slammed his gavel calling for all chatter to stop.

The testimonials began. First up was the orphanage. The owners told the court of how much a “Problem Child” Groot is and how he must remain in their care until they find the “perfect” family for him. Rocket sighs and rolls his eyes at this statement, knowing that it’s all a lie.

A while later, it was Rocket’s turn to testify. He tells the court that Groot isn’t a “Problem Child” as the orphanage makes it sound like. Rocket then delves into how the adults and the other children at the orphanage treat Groot on a daily basis. He then tells of how the preschool treats Groot when he goes there and plays the video that he took when he saw Groot’s one-on-one aide and two school officers treat Groot as if he was a criminal by zapping him through his shock collar and promptly throwing him into a time-out room.

“Thank you, Subject 89P13, you may take your seat now.” The judge ordered Rocket as the raccoon went back to his table and sat down.

“I will now go back to my chamber and decide the fate of Orphan 89P15.” The judge got up and walked back to his chambers.

An hour later, the judge returned to the courtroom to deliver his final verdict.

“I’m going to keep this short and sweet.” The judge began as he noticed that Groot was tired and about to fall asleep in his stroller. “In the end, the fate of this child is very clear to me. Even though I personally don’t agree with his parenting methods, I hereby award custody and full parental rights of Orphan 89P15 to Subject 89P13 and his associates. Bailiff, if you could reunite the child with his rightful family.” He proudly announced as he slammed his gavel down to make it official.

One of the officers in the courtroom walked over to the orphanage’s table to collect Groot. He then pushed a happy little tree over to Rocket and friends.

“I am Groot!” Groot excitedly said as the Bailiff undid the seat belts to his stroller and the sapling stood up at lightning speed to hug Rocket, his now official dad.

“Alright.” The raccoon said as he picked up Groot to carry him to the car. “You deserved it. We’ll go home and watch The Fast and the Furious.”

[woozletania]

Living with Rocket 3 (GOTG slice of life, some violence, trauma)

Author’s note: “Drax of all people leads an intervention to force Rocket to have something done about his botched cybernetic implants, and the crew meets someone from the raccoon's dark past.

Coranth on SoFurry gave me the idea of a story where Rocket gets his cybernetics fixed but since it's a Rocket story, of course there's a lot of unnecessary drama before it's all done.”            

Living with Rocket 3 By Strega

It wasn't Peter, for a change, that convinced Rocket to do something the little raccoon didn't want to do. It was Drax and, to everyone's surprise (maybe even hers), Gamora.

They were collecting a bounty on a particularly violent group of renegade Kree when it started. As usual Drax waded into melee with Gamora while Peter and Rocket picked off stragglers from a distance. The last few Kree charged Drax and the Destroyer, being all but invulnerable, went after them with his knives. Rocket used the giant as cover and as the two sides closed he shot two of the three dead.

But the last one had a surprise in store and rather than shoot Drax he dropped his weapon and pressed a control on his wrist.  Rocket knew all about traps and bombs and instantly dived behind some rubble, not quite fast enough to avoid the edge of the searing blast wave as the Kree exploded.  Drax was thrown fifty feet but shook off a hit that would have likely killed any of the other Guardians. Rocket on the other hand climbed to his feet with parts of his fur on fire and his back smoldering and beat out the last sparks as the others approached to make sure he was all right.

Rocket's tail was a sad shadow of its usual fluffy self, little more than a fleshy whip covered in shriveled fur, but he came out of it more or less unscathed save for a nick in one ear, some minor cuts and having his armored backplate shredded. He waved away the suggestion that he needed first aid and darted from Kree body to Kree body on all fours, scanning them for further traps and liberating various weapons and bits of tech. His damaged armor kept catching on things and so engrossed was he in his work that he stripped it off and cast it aside.  

It was the first time Drax and Gamora had seen him naked from the waist up, as he normally wore a light ship-shirt even when sleeping, and Drax's eyes went wide at the sight. The heat had penetrated the raccoon's armor and scorched some of what little fur he had there, but the few small burns and blisters were nothing compared to the horrific scars and protruding cybernetic implants.

"Rocket, your back," Drax said, and Gamora just shook her head.  Rocket's back was better than it had been a few months before, with less signs of infection and fewer areas of reddened, inflamed flesh, but it was still an ugly sight.

"What?" The raccoon looked up, his hands still disassembling a Kree energy rifle.  "Oh yeah, right.  Didn't mean to make you look at that." He glanced around, so engrossed in his task he'd forgotten for a moment where he left his vest, only to find Drax holding it inside-out so that everyone could see the blood and fluids staining the padding where it had stuck to Rocket's back.  Some of the stains were new and some months-old, dating back to him getting the new outfit after Xandar.

Gamora knew cybernetics well, being the second most augmented Guardian. Her implants were top-end and barely showed, though.  "Rocket, that looks bad. You have to get someone to look at it."

Rocket turned to face them in an all too familiar defensive reaction, covering up his injuries and denying everything.  "It's fine. Been that way forever."

"It's not that bad, guys.  I've been putting antibiotics on it a few times a week." Peter was to instantly regret taking Rocket's side.

"You knew about this?!" Gamora snapped at him.  "Why didn't you say something?  I've seen neater work on homemade Ravager cybernetics!"

"Hey! If I could get at it I'd fix it myself," Rocket growled.  "And it's my business." He yanked a bloody and far too large shirt off a Kree Drax had eviscerated and draped it over himself.  "There. Problem solved."

It wasn't, of course, and Drax was the one who wouldn't let it drop. Since Rocket's emotional breakdown a few months back the giant had come to regard the little raccoon almost as his own child. Between Mantis's empathic therapy and the strong support of his friends Rocket had healed a great deal in a short time, but occasionally the night terrors still came on him and he'd taken to leaving his little padded bed by the end of Drax's bunk and synchronizing his sleep to that of the giant.  When Drax, once a parent and easily woken by small sounds, heard the raccoon whine in his sleep or claw at his bed a great hand would come down off the bunk and stroke Rocket's fur until he relaxed.

Everyone had petted a sleeping Rocket (and lately, when he was awake too) and suddenly there was a sinister significance to how he always turned when petted, even when asleep, so a hand did not stray onto his upper back. It either hurt to be touched there or, just as bad, he didn't want them to feel how mangled he was.

And so later, when Rocket was sitting stiffly on a bunk so Peter could treat the burns and apply universal antibiotics to his back, Drax and Gamora appeared in the doorway to the little cabin.

"Rocket," Drax said firmly, "You need to let someone look at that. Gamora says there's a cover missing off one of those bolts.  It's not healthy to leave it that way."

Rocket's ears went back as they always did when he was confronted about something he didn't want to talk about. Six months before he'd have laughed it off or told Drax where to stick it. Six months ago he hadn't had a family, though, and Drax and Peter  were the closest things to father figures he'd ever had.  Just the same, he balked.

"It's fine," he mumbled. His furry little hands found the medical kit Peter had brought and unconsciously began to sort the contents. "Don't like doctors."

"If it stays that way, sooner or later that bolt is going to pull back into your skin and get stuck," Gamora said. It was only around the scars that you truly got to see how extensively Rocket was modified.  Besides the bolts and apparatus protruding from his skin there was a visible bulge where some sort of cross brace changed the whole shape of his chest. Between that and the bolts atop what were probably artificial collarbones the marks where they had turned a four-legged animal into a biped were all too evident. That left out whatever other scars hid under his fur. Even his hands had bolts and screws that sometimes showed.

"Happens," Rocket mumbled.  He had sorted the contents of the kit by size and was absently taking a pair of surgical scissors apart.  "I just flex my arm until it pops back out."

"Man, that has to hurt," Peter said.  "You gotta stop that from happening."

Rocket's ears went down and his fangs came out as he dropped the scissors.  "I told ya," he snarled. "Everything hurts!  I've got it covered, okay? I don't like doctors. Don't like needles.  I can live with it."

Peter shook his head and stuck a smart bandage on one of the stubborn areas around the big implant on Rocket's back that never seemed to heal. The raccoon's body was still trying to reject some part of the cybernetics and at the same time Rocket's enhanced immune system kept trying to heal it. The raccoon's pain tolerance was incredible yet he still winced sometimes when Peter worked on his back but what could you do? It was his body.

You could be as stubborn as he was. "No," said Drax, the voice rumbling up out of his barrel chest.  "You won't 'live with it.' We're going to find a doctor, a cyberneticist, and we're going to have him look at it.  And if he does the tiniest thing that worries me, I will break every bone in his body."

"And if he somehow gets away," Gamora said, "Then he will have to deal with me."

The already tense raccoon went rigid on the bunk and Peter put his hand on Rocket's shoulder from behind.  "I'll be there too, buddy. You won't be alone."

Rocket looked down at little Groot, who had sensed the tension and was rubbing the raccoon's nearly furless tail. The stiffness slowly went out of his little body.

"All right," he said softly.  "Just as long as you're there." It was an admission of frailty they'd never heard before from the raccoon. He didn't want to be alone. Not any more.

Naturally Rocket immediately and conveniently forgot about the agreement but a day layer he found Drax clumsily typing in searches for cyberneticists with his thick fingers. With a long-suffering sigh Rocket elbowed him out of the way.

"No," he said at once.  "Not on that planet.  Or that one.  No, not that guy. Only works on things with tentacles.  No, not him..."

"Sounds like you've done some research yourself," Peter said over his shoulder.

"Shut up." Rocket flipped through a dozen more doctors, then began typing in searches so fast they could hardly make out the words on the floating screen. It was no surprise he was as good with computers as any other technology. It was only when dealing with people that he stumbled.

Five minutes later he found something he liked. The face of a blond human or human-like alien hovered on the screen as Rocket did increasingly elaborate searches about him. Finally the rapid-fire clatter of claws on keys stopped and the little raccoon took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said, and pointed a claw at the screen.  "Him."

"Foster, Paul," Peter read.  "That's an Earth name!"

"You aren't the only one from that rock out here," Rocket said. "Buncha races have been there, taking specimens, people. Slaves, whatever.  This guy was one of a dozen or so got picked up and used as researchers. Some of them were forced, some did it 'cos it paid well. They couldn't go back to Earth, there's a treaty. You can take from low tech worlds but you can't bring back, right? That's why you had to do all that paperwork just to go back there for music. Watchers brokered that treaty, long time ago."

"Watchers," Drax said. "-The- Watchers?"

"Yeah, them," Rocket said. "They gave some planet tech a few billion years back and the guys they gave it to promptly blew themselves up. That's why they are Watchers now. 'Bout all they do is watch and act as mediators these days."

He typed briefly, waited.  "Okay. Got an appointment tomorrow at his office on Gumwalt, southern continent, Spire City.  It's only ten jumps, so we can head there after we get some sleep."

"That was quick," Peter said, but Rocket didn't reply. He just made his way to his little round bed to curl up, and if Drax noticed how many times he had to pet the sleeping raccoon to calm him down that night, he said nothing.

Most of a day, a few jumps and a maglev train ride later the Guardians, minus Mantis and Groot, sat impatiently waiting for the doctor to arrive. The mismatched foursome were the only ones in the office aside from a pink-skinned nurse, or maybe she was just a receptionist. Rocket sat, ears down and his little hand on Drax's forearm, not reacting even when a voice came out of the intercom.

"Only one appointment this morning I see, Cleva," said the voice. "Animal Uplift with cybernetics problems?"

The receptionist nodded to thin air.  "Yes doctor.  I don't know the species, but he's mammalian."

"That's not a lot to go on," said the doctor conversationally as came through the door. The raccoon didn't look up but everyone else saw the blood drain from the man's face and heard his smart pad hit the floor as he saw Rocket.

"No," he whispered, backing toward the door. Gamora was on her feet in an instant but the raccoon's hand darted out to grab her wrist.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the little raccoon said, still not looking up. "You can go if you want, we won't stop you, but I really need your help."

Drax and Peter shared looks but Gamora split her attention between the doctor, who was deciding whether or not to run, and the receptionist, who had her hand out of sight on what must be a panic button. Eventually the doctor relaxed.

"It's all right, Cleva," he said. Color had begun to return to his face.  "We're old friends. Go prep examining room one, please. And clear my schedule for the rest of the day."

A moment later the doctor sat himself on a nearby chair and studied Rocket with a mixture of wonder and barely repressed fear.  "You talk better now," he said.

Rocket let out a harsh little laugh.  "Kinda necessary, doc."

"I heard you were working with a, well, a tree," the doctor said, looking at the Guardians one after another.  "And you had something to do with stopping Ronan, along with these 'Guardians'. And in stopping whatever that was that happened a few months back. That biological attack all over the galaxy. Seems like you made a name for yourself."

The doctor fiddled with his recovered smart pad, looking uncomfortable. "You're so much more than I thought you'd ever be."

"So much more than what you started with?" Rocket looked up at last, and Peter was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"89P13, " said the man, and then paused.  "Rocket. You know I didn't agree with what we did. Uplift, yes, I can live with doing that. But the rest...." he fiddled with the pad, and Peter could see scans of Rocket flicking by, skeletal structures, cybernetics.   Some of the images showed the little raccoon, partially shaved, restrained, cut open. One showed a plastic gag in his mouth and his wide-open eyes as someone, visible only as hands, worked on an arm - probably more of a foreleg at that point - that had been physically ripped from his body. Only a few tendons still  connected arm and torso and someone else was trying to staunch the bleeding from the stump. "I tried to get them to not do it that way."

Rocket's emotional moment had passed quickly. "That's why you are still alive, Doc." He said it matter-of-factly, and Foster could only nod.

"The examining room is ready, doctor," said the nurse, and the little group rose and went in, Rocket shuffling awkwardly along with Drax's hand on one shoulder and Peter's on the other. They were just there for support, not to push him onward, and a little furry hand came up to rest on each of theirs as they stepped into a room packed full of examining tables, autodocs and full-body scanners. Doctor Foster gestured for Rocket to undress and Drax spoke up.

"Doctor," he said.  "Before we start.  You had something to do with all this," he gestured at the scars exposed as Rocket shucked out of his tunic.  "I think he trusts you.  But if you hurt our friend -"

"It's all right, Drax," Rocket mumbled.  "It was a long time ago. It's all over now."

The breath hissed out of the doctor as he saw Rocket's back. "Oh god.  They were supposed to graft over that. But then..." he shook his head. "Step into the scanner, please."

It was a long and painful visit for everyone, not so much physically, for the doctor used a nerve deadener on each part of Rocket he worked on, but simply because it was discomfiting to watch the little raccoon sit there, quite conscious, and let himself be cut open. He refused anesthesia even when Doctor Foster and the nurse flayed open his chest to repair a damaged cross-brace on his ribs. He could see it all happening and he lay there eerily calm save for the grip he kept on Peter and Drax's hands.

At least, he seemed calm until you saw his heart rate spike on the monitor every time the doctor approached and felt how his grip tightened. Or saw how many times the nurse had to deaden nerves to relax the muscle-cracking tension in his limbs so they could make another cut. This was the nightmare that woke him screaming and only the presence of his friends kept him from coming up off the operating table with a scalpel in his hand or collapsing into shrieking terror.

"Man, you have to let them put you under, " Peter said an hour or so in, but Rocket just shook his head and clung all the more tightly to his hand. If they hadn't deactivated most of his cybernetics in the first few minutes Rocket's desperate grasp would have cracked the bones in Peter's hand. Every so often Drax would gently pet the raccoon's nape and he'd relax a little, at least until the doctor approached once more.

Mantis had volunteered to come along and soothe his fears during the meeting but Rocket had turned that offer down too. He needed to be awake and in control for this, he'd said. The next time he was unconscious and unaware in an operating room would be the day they put him in a box.

Somehow the doctor kept his own composure despite Gamora watching him like a hawk, ready to kill him in an instant if he did anything she questioned. In a room full of dangerous people all too ready to use lethal force to protect their friend he and the nurse worked quickly, professionally, and made no mistakes.

Bit by bit he went over the little raccoon's body, tweaking servos, replacing some, tightening connections. Only now did the Guardians learn how extensive Rocket's cybernetic systems were.  Every limb, even his neck and jaws, practically every bone had an associated servo or brace, and the doctor knew where each was before he picked up a scalpel. Rocket had come to perhaps the one man in the galaxy who know how he ticked.

Later they would learn he'd kept all his old files on Rocket and updated them as technology improved, to be ready just in case Rocket came by not to kill him but for help. Or perhaps as a bargaining chip if it was the former. It amounted to the same thing.

Unlike Peter he was able to do more than smear antibiotic or stick smart bandages on Rocket's back and when he was done  the bolts were smooth and polished, the skin around them still reddened but much healthier. He even had a device that regrew most of the fur around them, leaving just a half-inch ring of exposed skin around each implant. He used the same device to repair most of the fur he'd shaved off over the course of the day and the raccoon's threadbare tail. When it was finally over  Rocket stepped out of the shower, the last traces of blood rinsed from his fur, he stood and stretched, twisting his arms, flexing his knees.

"Hadn't realized how screwed up I was," he said, and went through a series of small motions to to test his joints. "Thanks doc, that's a lot better."

"Before you ask," the doctor said, his voice thick with emotion, "This is all on the house.  Not because you could hurt me.  You could have done that years ago. Because I'm proud of you, Rocket. You're more than I ever thought you'd be, not because of us, but despite us. I'm so sorry it was like that. It should have been better, back then. Better for you, better for us."

Rocket nodded wordlessly as he turned away.

"Rocket," the doctor said, and the raccoon paused.  "Come back anytime. You're always welcome."

Rocket stood frozen, then turned to face the doctor. He took the man's hand in his little furry ones for a moment, then spoke. "I'm sorry about your friends. I wish... I wish it'd been different too."

Rocket didn't say another word all the way back to the Milano, just occasionally flexing his fingers or bending a joint wonderingly. He'd never said a word about it, but it was obvious now he'd been in constant pain. Exhausted by the operation, he spent the last hour of the trip curled up in a ball between Peter and Drax. Fellow passengers in the car glanced in amusement at the sleeping "pet" and one approached with his hand outstretched but the frosty glare from all three of Rocket's companions and the way hands slid easily toward weapons at the merest hint of a threat to their friend chased him away long before he touched fur.

When they reached the ship he went straight to his locker and brought back a pouch. At his gesture the whole crew gathered, there around the common room table.  Groot sat on his knee and Mantis put her hand on his shoulder as he opened it.

First to come out was an animal collar, crudely cut through, bearing the legend 89P13. He slid that to the side and unfolded a bit of the old-style plastic news scrip still used on a few worlds.

HALFWORLD RESEARCH CENTER DESTROYED BY REACTOR EXPLOSION, read the headline. 'Sole survivor fled when alarm sounded, authorities baffled.'

There was more, but Rocket folded it and set it aside. Next out of the pouch was a ID badge on a lanyard, then another, another, three more. One had a bullet hole, others were stained with old blood. One was scored by cuts from some blade and so saturated with blood the plastic was permanently discolored.

"Randolph", he said, and held up the badge.  PROJECT DIRECTOR, it said below the name. "Ernst." That was the cut-up badge, blazoned CHIEF SURGEON. "Tschu." PROGRAMMER. "Osterman," CYBERNETICIST. "Chang," "Kinkaid," SURGEONS.

He shuffled the badges, then lay one atop another until only the first letter of each name showed.  ROCKET.

"Could have got Foster too," he said so softly they strained to hear. "But  he wasn't so bad. Told him to run. Then I blew the place. By then," he looked down at the badges.  "I had all the letters I needed."  His surprisingly expressive muzzled face twisted as he remembered, then slowly relaxed. "All this time, I was sorry I could only kill them once. That I couldn't make them suffer more. They were just things to hate. Now...if they were still out there, somewhere, I think I could live with that. As long as they weren't still doing what they did, I could leave them be."

Drax put his huge hand on the raccoon's where it lay atop the badges. "Eventually you have to stop living for hate, and just live." Drax had learned hard lessons during his own monomaniacal pursuit of vengeance.

Slowly, deliberately, Rocket gathered up the badges, the collar, the news scrip. There was a sense of formality to it as he let go of the long remembered pain, the hatred. "I don't need letters any more," he said. "Or a number." he slid the collar into the pouch with the rest. "I have a name." He paused. "And a family."

Peter put his hand on Rocket's shoulder and they watched, silent, as he dropped the pouch into the Milano's incinerator.  And somehow, that night, despite the endless horror of that day's operation and for the first time anyone could remember, Rocket slept the whole night through without a single nightmare.