I have this headcannon that Rocket joined a circus when he first broke out of the facility and was part of the freak show. Just, ya know, 'cause I want to. Anyway, enjoy~

When Rocket had first escaped he had taken a job with a circus, part of the freak show. He'd never say that he really felt like he belonged there but he could say that he didn't feel out of place. There were even a few other genetic experiments, a girl with ears and a tail and a boy with large, colorful wings. There was this one girl that was part robot and could make her body catch fire or breathe under water for hours, it was pretty cool to watch. A really big guy could lift anything you gave him, the guy actually threw a whole building once just to impress someone, Rocket was told. He wasn't sure he believed it but he didn't really doubt it either.

Rocket was the only animal but he didn't mind, made him feel special and everyone was amazed when they saw him. Rocket wasn't sure how he felt about all the stares and the shrieks, but they're what got him raises so after awhile he started removing his shirt for every show. Kids loved watching him build stuff out of scraps so the owner of the circus paid Rocket more to make fun toys out of scrap parts he could give him, Rocket took the job of course and he was a hit with the youngsters. Rocket traveled all over the place, different planets and all sorts of cities and small towns, he loved it.

That's also how he met Groot. He joined the freak show about a week into Rocket's career and Rocket liked the guy. He was nice and would give the kids hand grown flowers if they wanted them. No, literally hand grown, he grew them in his hand, it freaked Rocket out. Groot mostly kept to himself and grew things out of the ground, the others all liked him. Rocket ended up hanging around him a lot for peace and quiet, he liked Groot. That was that.

After about two weeks the guy who owned the circus paired them together and Rocket and Groot came up with a skit they would do, where Rocket would hide inside his chest and Groot would open it up to let Rocket crawl out, startling everyone into shrieks and laughter. After stretching and a large yawn Rocket would ask Groot a question and startle the audience again, Groot would answer with the only words he knew and Rocket would pretend to have a conversation, getting the people to laugh at the jokes. After that went on for a short while Rocket would watch Groot grow a large flower and take it when he held it out to him, Rocket would then hand to the closest kid with a wink before climbing onto Groot's head. Rocket would bid them all farewell and climb back into Groot's chest. It was a huge hit and they both got raises for it.

During the more adult version of the freak show, where they were allowed to show off however they wanted, Rocket and Groot showed separately. Rocket didn't like the adult shows very much, never had, he was looked at like a monster instead of something really cool. The room on the ship they did it in was dark with only one light to show you the freaks, making it hard for Rocket to see any of the audience and know what kind of people were watching as he removed his shirt to show off his robotics. The guy in charge at that part of the freak show would give a narration of it all, introduce them and tell the audience what Rocket was, illegal experiment. Rocket would crack his neck and flex his shoulders, letting the mechanics on his back whirr and move, showing them off despite his discomfort. People would give you tips for these shows though, so Rocket did them.

It wasn't very fun but it was work and got him units so, Rocket went with it, showing himself off for people to gawk at and shriek in fear, calling him names that he hated. Freak. Monster. Vermin. Mutt. The list went on. Rocket stayed with the circus for a whole two years, enjoying himself as best he could in his profession, before leaving and giving one last performance with Groot, who surprisingly left with him. Rocket never understood why he had left and followed after him, but he had and Rocket let him stick around. He could use some company as he went back into the profession of pickpocketing and collecting bounties.

For years and years Rocket was convinced he was what those people called him, a freak and a monster. Something to be gawked at and made fun of, something people shrieked at when he passed and backed away in fear. He had excepted this as his lot in life, it was obvious enough that's what he would be for the rest of his life and he would move passed it. But he couldn't. It kept nagging and nagging at the back of his mind whenever someone stared too long or muttered an insult under their breath to the person next to them. Everyone stared and everyone freaked when they spotted him. It was just how the world worked.

But then he met the others, Quill and Gamora and Drax, they didn't stare or shriek or call him any kind of names, and if they did it wasn't usually meant to hurt him. For the first time since his circus days Rocket felt like he wasn't out of place somewhere, he clung to that feeling a little too tightly. By the end of their crazy adventure, when Groot had told him, "We are Groot" he had figured it out. He wasn't just not out of place, he belonged here. He finally belonged somewhere and was excepted, a place were no one stared or gawked or hissed terrible names under their breath. They had the guts to at least insult him to his face if they wanted, Rocket found that he liked that better than whispers.

And that's a wrap!

Thanks for reading, please review and have a bow chicka bow wow day~

Petchricor, QotG, signing off ;)