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“Has anyone seen Groot?” Rocket stood on the table and spoke as loudly as he could in an attempt to make himself heard over the sound of chattering superheroes (and one possible supervillain, he still wasn’t exactly pleased that Nebula had been invited).
Laura, their ever kind host who Rocket had developed a fondness for (not that he would admit to it) glanced up long enough to say, “I think I saw him head out this morning before you were all awake. He was headed toward the woods.”
“He say anything?” Peter asked, looking up from where he and the other Peter - Spiderman, Rocket reminded himself - were fussing with some sort of earth tech. A Polaroid, Peter had called it. “He’s probably trying to talk to the trees. Again.”
Hawkeye didn’t bat an eye, responding, “I am Groot.” He nearly laughed himself sick over that, and Rocket hopped off the table and stomped out the door, ignoring their strange and somewhat annoying host.
“Thanks for all yer help!” Rocket shouted over his shoulder. He scurried across the farm headed toward the nearest bunch of trees, figuring that was where he was most likely to find his missing friend.
Rocket jumped into the trees and raced from branch to branch, his sharp ears attuned for sounds of Groot-speak.
“I am Groot.”
“Twig, that ain’t Rat and you oughta know that.”
Rocket would have bristled if anyone else had called him a rat, but he recognized the voice enough to stop and pause, peering down to see Yondu and Groot sitting on a fallen log, watching a family of Racoons race in front of them.
“I am Groot!”
“They’re as likely to talk to ya as that tree over there,” Yondu replied, focusing on his arrow, buffing where Rocket had stitched it back together after Ego. When Groot bounced to his feet and raced off toward the aforementioned tree he groaned. “That don’t mean ya should try!”
Startled by the loud shouting the family of Racoons raced off, rushing past Rocket in their haste. They paused at the sight of him, whiskers twitching and their eyes shining with curiosity. “Put on some flarking pants, would ya?” he muttered, shoving past them.
“Yer making this real weird, Twig,” Yondu grumbled, watching as Groot continued from tree to tree, petting each one and babbling to them. Spying Rocket he shouted, “Ey Rat! Come ’n deal wit yer brat!”
“I am Groot!”
“Yer a brat till I says you is.”
“Groot we talked about this,” Rocket said helplessly, scampering across the clearing and up Groot’s back to perch on his shoulder. “These trees don’t talk, Laura’s sure of it.” Of course, Laura kept referring to Groot as an “Ent” which Rocket didn’t quite understand either. But even Peter and Peter were pretty sure that Groot couldn’t communicate with the Terran Flora.
“I am Groot!”