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Drax finds out first.
While surprising in some ways, due to his personal brand of obliviousness, he's the only one with romantic experience. Drax knows what someone in love looks like, because at one point, he saw it in the mirror every morning.
Despite his own adoring expression being long-gone, Drax can recognize the signs of familiar affections. The fleeting glances, the inside jokes, the gentle teasing mixed with the occasional exasperated (yet fond) complaints--It reminds him strongly of Hovat's demeanor with him toward the end of her life, mocking him for his stubbornness while loving him for his determination.
The reminder hurts, but Drax cannot fault the two for their affections. They are strange beings with a past no one but each other can fully comprehend, which makes their pairing understandable. Rocket's harsh, sturdy personality contrasts in nearly every way with Groot's gentle kindness. Even physically, they act complementary to each other, what with Rocket's short stature and Groot's lithe height.
Somedays, he is so envious he fears he will lose the tightly held control he imposes on his grief. Somedays, he is so envious he smiles at them with the slightest tinge of longing and nostalgia. Somedays, he is so envious he wants to ruin the privacy in which they have enveloped themselves through use of pointed distance and quiet murmurs in the middle of the night.
Most days, he is proud to be the audience for such a strong partnership.
* * * * *
Peter finds out next.
While eating dinner, he happens to see Groot, almost ready to be moved out of xir little flowerpot, pushing a tiny bowl full of water towards Rocket, who takes it without a smart ass comment and with a half-pat half-stroke on the top of Groot's head before dipping his hands and fruit bits into the water. It's a little, teeny-tiny gesture that no one would have seen if Peter hadn't looked over at that precise moment and seen the glance the two shared, the gentle smiles accompanying them for a split-second before Rocket turns back to Gamora and continues his argument about her suggested upgrades.
He starts giggling when it hits him, because come on- it's a raccoon and a fucking tree, how could that NOT be hysterical? He may have only been a bonafide Terran for barely a decade, but he's still not quite as culturally sensitive as those who grew up traversing the galaxy could be. Peter's only a man, for Pete's sake.
It's sorta sweet. In a weird, bestiality-floral-ology sorta way. Partly because Rocket always crawls all over Groot and for as much as he threatens when people call him short, he seems to enjoy that part of himself quite well when it suits his tree climbing needs, and partly because Groot looks at Rocket with enough affection to overload all of Vulcan.
In other news, Peter can no longer use "tree climbing" in his limited vocabulary because that led to all sorts of nasty images he didn't need to have about two of his best friends at all.
Anyways, it's none of Peter's business, and if he can have as many strange encounters with beings weirder and more tentacled than a sentient tree or a douchebag raccoon, then Rocket and Groot can do whatever the hell kind of freaky, kinky shit they want. At least theirs have actual emotion involved, unlike Peter's encounters, which gives them more credibility for acceptance overall.
Peter sure as hell isn't going to say anything about it though because it's still fucking weird to him and he's never had friends before so he'd rather not fuck it up by saying something inadvertently offensive.
* * * * *
Gamora finds out during a job.
She knows the lay of the land, having been there before as a scout for a potential Thanos-raised colony, but her knowledge is instinctual, not recordable, and thus makes teaching it to someone else difficult. Despite her attempts to explain clearly, everyone gets lost and ends up in separate corners of the woods.
She and Groot walk in relative silence, even when she notices Groot's growing agitation. It takes them three hours total to meet up with the others, and xe visibly relaxes the moment Rocket leans against xir leg-limbs. Rocket, as well, seems to lose the edge to his extreme-even-for-him-caustic remarks that she had caught only bits of as the two groups walked towards each other.
That, coupled with Peter's sudden awkwardness and averted eyes and Drax's softened features, fill in the rest of the information she had been missing previously.
Gamora figures it makes sense. She, too, understands what it's like to have only one person who can see the good and bad in you and still love you. She sees a lost sister when she looks at the two, and her nostalgia bites at the edges of her eyes and the back of her throat, begging to be released.
It's no wonder Rocket and Groot seize every opportunity to love each other after Groot's sacrifice. She, too, would be hard-pressed to let Nebula leave her sight had Nebula joined them instead of running away.
She doesn't speculate further than that, because she would not appreciate scrutiny into her relationships either.
* * * * *
The thing is, all of the Guardians assumed that Rocket and Groot got together after they formed their fancy vigilante group pow-wow thing. They think that Rocket had some sort of epiphany shit after Groot's (stupid stupid stupid) sacrifice and confessed his love to Groot and they lived happily ever after blah blah blah.
It's bull, that's what it is.
Rocket's not a sappy kind of guy, but he and Groot have a bond. An intense, goddamn fucking awesome bond that nobody could break even if they wanted to because it's that fucking hardcore. It comes from a solid couple of years fighting alongside each other, learning the other's ways, and just being with each other through thick and thin.
Groot's always had his back, and Rocket's always had xir's. Since the day Rocket blasted their way out of the scientists' grasps and Groot knocked out the guards to get Rocket the explosives to blast their way out, they've been partners until the end.
If they cuddle a bit, that's their business, because there ain't nothing like their partnership in the entire damn universe and Rocket's proud as fuck for that.
So eventually, they figure they should let the others know. Not because those dumb asses deserve an answer or any dumb shit like that, but because if it comes down to Rocket saving Groot or any of the others, he'll pick Groot every time, and even if Groot doesn't act like it, xe'd say the same, and in a team that's probably vital information.
Groots grows xir left arm a little longer so they can be holding hands while Rocket walks comfortably, and they sorta shuffle awkwardly when the others stare.
"Yeah. This is a thing." Rocket waves their entwined hands together. "Groot can probably word it best. Take it away, hot stuff."
"We are Groot," Xe points at everyone individually.
"But...?" Rocket prods.
"We are Groooot." And he points at xirself and Rocket.
Rocket claps his paws together. "There you have it. Can you all stop pretending that you don't know? It was pretty funny at first but now it's sorta pathetic. And sad. Like, c'mon. Getting us the matching sleeping bags was already lame, but the toothbrushes? Groot doesn't even have teeth, idiots."
Peter sticks his tongues out. "It was supposed to be subtly supportive, dickwad. I watched like twelve Xandaran romcoms to figure out how to be /nice/ about alternative lifestyles-"
"We all are currently living in a tiny ass ship kicking ass across the galaxy, Quill. How the fuck could me and Groot be be more alternative than that?"
"Would you like the list? I have one, just so you know, but Drax told me it was too rude-"
Groot smiles serenely as Peter and Rocket continue to argue.
Gamora gives a small smile back, while Drax attempts a thumbs-up as Peter taught him, and fails. The responses make Groot's grin widen, and he interrupts the argument halfway through to pick Rocket up and hug him tightly, before going around and hugging everyone else at least once as well. No one really knows how to respond, but that's alright, because--
Well, they are Groot.