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As soon as the door to the team's quarter's closed, Rocket let his distaste show. Huffing loudly, he headed for his luggage.
"Can you believe that? Disgusting people!" he said to his team. The others just smiled, each focusing on gathering their belongings. Their hosts had been spontaneously saved by the Guardians while on their mission, and thanked them by accommodating them for a night before they continued their journey. The species hosting them had a very different culture, and the raccoon wasn't fond of it. Rocket seated his little butt on Groot's knee, shuffling a bit to find a comfortable position, and began angrily, meticulously folding his clothing.
"Open relationship, huh? More like an excuse to stick it into any hole you can," he muttered. Gamora bit her lower lip to stifle a laugh, not looking at the short grumbling man, and opened her bag. Rocket growled quietly, his tiny fingers finishing a delicate fold on his shirt and tucking it into his bag neatly.
"I mean come on, that ain't normal!" he said, looking at Drax, then Peter and Gamora. "Am I seriously the only one who sees right through that crap? How is it even a "relationship" anyway? They just wanna screw around without having to deal with the consequences!" Groot let out a low, soft rumble, his fingers lightly gracing the raccoon's stiff neck fur. Rocket turned his head abruptly, glaring at his mate. His tail fluffed up. Groot smiled. Rocket's nostrils flared.
"What are you looking at?" he scoffed. "Yeah and FYI, if I ever catch you cheating on me, we're gonna take a little trip to a nice ice planet and I'm gonna chop you up and sell you as fire wood. Make a fortune." Groot smiled even broader, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Rocket's face heated up and he revealed his teeth.
"Don't gimme that look. I'm onto you," he warned. "If ya even think about it, I'm gonna whittle you till there's nothing left and bask in the glow of your burning carcass." The Colossus hummed lovingly, stroking the irritated cheek fur of his mate. He understood the theory of what Rocket was talking about. He knew other people made love to several individuals in their life; he had observed the phenomenon from the sidelines. But it meant nothing to him. That part of him hadn't existed before the moment Rocket had given him that certain look late one night, and it still didn't exist without his mate. When they were separated, that side just stopped being. It simply wasn't without Rocket. The mere idea was incomprehensible to Groot.
Rocket snorted irately, and turned his back on his mate, delicately rolling his white little socks.
"If ya ever cheat on me, I'm gonna cut you into pieces, sand 'em down, and build a nice big chair. Carve pretty little decorations on it. Maybe a cup holder. Yeah, a cup holder would be convenient. And when I'm old as flark, I'm gonna be sitting in that groot-chair, reminiscing the day you paid for your infidelity," he grumbled. Groot was stroking the back of Rocket's head tenderly, crooning in an adoring tone. The raccoon didn't usually show his feelings this openly in front of others. Rocket's shoulders twitched in irritation to the petting.
"I am Groot," the Flora Colossus murmured ardently. Rocket froze, stealing a quick glance at his teammates. Nobody seemed to react to Groot's declaration; they continued packing their belongings, smiling quietly. The raccoon's whiskers twitched hesitantly, and he focused on the shirt on his lap. His ears, now pushed back, being gently stroked by long wooden fingers.
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Thanks, Captain Obvious."