Classic Gang
The guardians were all seated around a table, in some booth, in some bar and grill. It was a cozy, dark kinda place. Perfect for a gang who wants a nice meal, where no one bothers them, but if they get bored they can get up to some shenanigans.
Peter Quill, Star Lord, in his iconic red jacket, and a mostly plain outfit besides that, was sitting down and eating a platter of rib-steaks. It was some alien mammal, but it was delicious.
As he would look back and forth, the little dangley earrings he had donned for the night would jingle against the side of his face. They glinted gold in the light, and satisfied some primal part of his brain. He might be turning more than was necessary just to make em jingle a little extra.
Next to Quill, Drax was calmly eating some sort of large rotisserie'd bird. He had navy blue pants on, and that was about as dressed up as Drax ever cared to get, so Quill was honored.
They were all celebrating a job that'd taken them two weeks to get done. Quill had a fresh cut on his abdomen, and some bruises, but had otherwise escaped fine.
Drax had one of his arms bandaged, due to some nasty burns he'd gotten on their quest.
Gamora was wearing a cute purple miniskirted dress with black pants underneath, and a black jacket overtop. She had some bandages on her torso, just barely poking out from the neckline. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail, with one little braided strand. She had a salad with steak on it.
Rocket was wearing a pink jumpsuit with black on the sides, and a sunny orange bandana around his neck, bandages around his arm, and neck. Hence the bandana hiding his neck. He also had some round framed sunglasses that Quill thought looked a little silly, but Rocket was happy, and Quill had to keep it to himself. Rocket was eating ribs, bones and all.
Groot was sitting on a booster seat between Gamora and Rocket, watching the conversation with a thoughtful frown. He was about up to Rocket's waist in height now, but still just a kid. He had some bug bowl thing.
"—and that shot was insane!" Quill laughs as he remembers the mission.
"Well I couldn't'a made th' shot if Drax wasn't coverin' my back!" Rocket beams at the big man.
"And I could not have guarded you as efficiently if we had not had Gamora's excellent recon." Drax nods to the green woman.
"And if Quill hadn't managed to smuggle me in, to do that recon, it all would've fallen apart." Gamora smiles, amused.
"And it all goes full circle, because without Rocket's tech, I couldn't have smuggled you in so easy!" He shoots Rocket a grin and a nod.
Rocket's fur puffs up in that way it does when he's happy, and he gives one of his toothy grins. "Feels good t' have the classic team on a job."
Groot frowns slightly.
"Yeah, it's been a minute!" Quill chuckles.
"Truly, I adore Mantis, Kraglin, and Cosmo, but it felt wonderful to be together again. Just the five of us." Gamora smiles down at Groot.
"I am Groot?" Quill thinks it was something like 'How did I do?' or 'Did I help?' or something along those lines.
"Of course ya helped, bud!" Rocket smiles at him. "Y'were Drax's backup, helpin' him fight when he needed it, remember?"
Groot frowns. "I am Groot…"
Quill couldn't guess much on that one, but it sounded sad.
"Well, y'gotta grow a little bigger t' be able to do really dangerous stuff solo." Rocket softens a little, turning to properly face Groot, and give his full attention.
"I am Groot."
Quill knew that one. Groot was saying it was annoying, or he was annoyed.
"Well, you'll get bigger, and better, and eventually you can do whatever you wanna for the jobs!" Quill butts in, smiling at the little Colossus.
"I am Groot!" Groot indignantly frowns at Quill.
Okay, he thinks that one was about being big enough, but he was mostly guessing.
Rocket gently reached over to try and put a hand on Groot's shoulder. "Buddy-"
Groot smacks his hand away, and glares at Rocket. "I am Groot." Something Quill had never heard before.
Rocket frowns, and sighs, nodding with a little smile. "I know. I know buddy, and y' do help, but right now we wanna focus on teachin' ya, so when you're bigger y' can help even more! That's good, yeah?"
Groot huffs, "I am Groot…"
Rocket's fur tenses up, and Quill wishes he knew what Groot had said.
Rocket leans forward, and looks into Groot's eyes. "Well duh. O'course I don't wantcha gettin' hurt, doofus."
"I am Groot, I am Groot!"
God Quill needed to understand Groot NOW. He hated being stuck observing.
Rocket's ears twitched, his fur wilting a little. His smile falters, but he holds it. "I can handle bein' hurt. We're grown ups, we can be hurt. An' sure that has… limits… but you ain't tough enough to do that yet."
"I am Groot, I am… Groot."
Rocket freezes, and sits back. He closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. "…Yes. Sometimes grown ups die even if they're tough." He takes a breath in, and out, and leans forward. "But that's all th' more reason y' gotta let y'rself grow big before ya do the real dangerous stuff. Less likely somethin' bad happens to ya."
Okay, Quill needed to step in. He had some idea of what was said.
"Rocket is right, Groot. You're too little right now, so we're teaching you everything you gotta know." Quill tries to give a reassuring smile.
Groot turns his grumpy expression on Quill. "I am Groot?" His voice sounds sassy.
Rocket glares a little. "Groot, don't be rude, they're tryin' t' learn."
Quill feels bashful now. It was probably something about asking if Quill could even understand him. If he had to guess.
"I am Groot!!" Groot snaps at Rocket.
Rocket flinches, and his ears droop a little.
"Groot-" Rocket starts.
"I am GROOT!" Groot slaps a hand on his own leg, and glares at Rocket.
Rocket seems actually stunned, and he sighs, nodding back to a more average emotion. "That's fair. I know it can be frustratin'."
Groot's anger seems to falter a little.
"But they'll learn, an' get better. Remember we made them the workbook?" Rocket gives a little grin, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Groot seems to brighten a little, looking down sheepishly.
"I am Groot…"
"They'll learn in no time. An' then y'ain't just relyin' on me for translation anymore." Rocket grins, patting Groot on the shoulder.
Groot looks up at Rocket, holding his hands together.
"I am Groot…" Quill knew that one by heart. "I'm sorry."
Rocket smiles a little, and pats Groot again. "It's alright. Y're allowed t' be upset about things, buddy."
The others are quiet a minute, and when it seems like Groot is okay, or at least feeling better, Rocket sighs. "I'm gonna head back t' the ship." He says, looking at the others.
Quill meets his eyes, and would love to ask what Groot said, but that'd just upset the little Colossus more, probably.
He'll ask later.
Gamora nods, "we'll see you after dinner."
"Stay safe, Rocket." Drax says firmly.
"Yeah, want me to bring the rest of your food to the ship after we're done?" Quill asks as he and Drax shimmy out of the way.
"I'd appreciate that, yeah." Rocket nods.
Groot frowns guiltily, looking at Rocket as he gets up.
Rocket pauses, and turns to Groot, reaching over to cradle Groot's cheek in his hand. "S'alright buddy. I just need space."
Groot relaxes a little.
Quill and Drax stay standing, and Rocket stands up, walking his way to the edge of the booth seat, and hopping down.
Quill shifts to block his way a little, and looks down at him, trying to make his face express some variation of 'you okay?'.
Rocket looks up at him, and gives a little smile, patting Quill's leg, before he looks down, drooping a little as he starts walking away.
Drax slides into his seat, and Quill follows with a sigh, before smiling. "Alright, anyone want dessert?"
About an hour later, the guardians were all heading back to the ship.
"I… am Groot!" Groot looks around at the three of them.
"You… are happy?" Gamora tries.
"You want to play." Quill says confidently.
"You are happy we are playing." Drax nods.
Groot points at Drax. "I am Groot." He smiles.
"You're annoyingly good at this." Gamora huffs, hands on her hips as she looks at Drax.
"I have more experience." Drax crosses his arms.
"We've all known Groot for basically the same amount of time." Quill retorts with a raise of his eyebrows.
"Perhaps. But I have helped Rocket with parenting a significant amount more. Seeing as I have parental knowledge you two lack." Drax gives a wave of his hand towards Groot. "I have interacted with him significantly more."
"Well now you're just bragging." Quill huffs, hands on his hips too, mimicking Gamora's playfully annoyed look.
Groot giggles.
They reach the Benetar, and Quill presses the button to open the door. Locked.
"Ope. Guess he re-locked it after he got back." Quill shrugs, inputting the passcode before he opens the door properly.
"After you, m'lady, m'draxxy, and m'boy." He puts on a silly face and bows dramatically for them to all walk past.
Gamora smiles, rolling her eyes as she walks by.
Drax bows his head a little as he walks by.
Groot grins, reaching up to extend a branch and pat Quill's head, similar to what the others always do when being appreciative of Groot. Quill grins at him.
Once everyone is inside, Quill closes up, hopping inside, and then he locks the door.
He sees that Rocket isn't immediately in the cargo bay, so maybe he's in his room…
He heads up, and the room is closed up. Probably wouldn't wanna be bothered. He knocks gently on the door. "If you're awake, your food'll be in the fridge."
He listens for a second, but not hearing anything, sighs, hoping Rocket's resting well. He heads over to the fridge, puts in the box of leftovers, and hops onto the couch, clicking the TV on.
He'd just relax the rest of the night.
If Rocket needed him, he'd be right here, easily accessible.
Quill wakes up to the smell of Ambrian Sausage (made of birds, you get used to it), and sits up excitedly.
"Drax, I love you."
The greenish grey man looks over, blinking. He lifts a hand from the pan handle he was previously holding, and waves. "I love you as well, Peter Quill."
Quill chuckles, and stretches as he stands up. Gamora walks out of the hall to her room, hair freshly brushed, wearing a yellow T-shirt.
"I agree with Peter. It's always lovely to be greeted by a wonderful meal, first thing in the morning. Endlessly grateful, Drax." She takes a seat at the dining table.
Groot walks out too, giving his own adorable little yawn. He pulls himself up to the breakfast table.
Quill sits down next to Gamora, and smiles at her. "Is it alright if I give you a kiss?"
Gamora smiles, and leans over, planting a kiss on his cheek. "No, I want to give you one, today."
Quill chuckles, "I won't complain about that."
Drax starts to plate up the sausages, then pauses, glancing towards the hall that leads to his own room. Oh, and Rocket's. "Hm."
Quill glances over too. Rocket always woke up for meat…
"Maybe he still needs space?" He gives Gamora a sideways look.
"I'll go see." Gamora stands up, and walks into the hall.
Drax continues to serve up five plates, laying them out on the table.
Groot frowns, and looks a little guilty.
"Hey, it's okay buddy. Sometimes we say things that make people sad, but it'll be alright." Quill offers.
Drax sits down next to Groot, putting a hand on his back. "Quill is correct. Rocket might need some time today, some space. But he will be fine. I would be willing to bet he is back to normal by the end of the day."
Groot smiles a little, sheepish.
"I am Groot…?"
Quill thinks he gets that one, "yeah, we're sure."
Gamora then walks out of the hall, a deep frown on her face. "Rocket isn't in his room."