This is a birthday gift for my dear friend, Shinigamilover2.

NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes that I will fix later.

...

"Kid! What happened to your eye?!"

"It's that noticeable, huh?"

To Rocket Raccoon's shock, Peter Parker stepped into the kitchen with a big left shiner and a small bruise on his upper lip. Both the raccoon and teenager moved into the Avengers headquarters after the "Blip", as did the other Guardians and Peter's girlfriend Mary Jane. The two bonded during their stay together and Rocket even improved some of Peter's Spidey tech like the web shooter and Spider-Drone.

Seeing his young human friend come home with injuries made Rocket's blood boil. "Alright, who's the sh**head that did that to you?" he demanded as his lips curled into a snarl.

"Rocket, calm down," Peter said as he put his book bag down on the table. "Look, it's not a big deal."

"It is to me!" Rocket snapped. "Now tell me who did it!"

"No, I won't tell you."

"And why not?!"

"'Cause I know you, alright? If I tell you, you'll go look for him and blow him to bits."

"What? No, I wouldn't!" Rocket paused before he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I'd probably just take an arm or a leg or..."

Peter chuckled softly and shook his head. "See? That's what I'm talking about." He walked to the fridge and reached into the freezer for something. He pulled out an ice pack and wrapped a paper towel around it.

Rocket watched with sad eyes as the teenager sat down at the table and pressed the pack against his black eye. He climbed onto a chair and joined him. "Come on, kid," he said softly. "Tell me what's going on."

Peter looked at him for a moment before he said, "If I tell you, will you promise not to do anything...well, crazy?"

"Fine," Rocket grumbled. "I promise not to blow the guy up or cripple him. That good enough for ya?"

Peter grinned. "Yeah, I guess." Then he sighed softly. "It was a kid at school. Flash Thompson."

Rocket was shocked by this revelation. "Wait. You mean a scrawny kid did this to you? It wasn't a criminal or another jerk in a dumb costume?"

"Nope. Just a student."

"But you hit him back, right? Or at least left a surprise for him in his lunchbox? I can put Drax's turd in his locker if you want."

Peter couldn't help but laugh. "No thanks. And no, I didn't hit him back."

The raccoon gave him a confused look. "But why not? You're obviously stronger than he is."

"Yeah, I know."

"You could bend his legs into a pretzel if you wanted to."

"I know."

"You're friggin' Spider-Man, for crying out loud!"

"I know. And that's why I can't hurt him."

Rocket blinked. "Huh?"

"Flash isn't a serious threat to society like the bad guys I've had to fight. He's just a dumb kid with the manners of a gorilla. I'm not like the other guys at school, Rocket. Even if I used a fourth of my strength, I could seriously hurt Flash."

Rocket still wasn't getting the point. "Well, if he's a bully, then who cares if you hurt him?"

"His parents, for one. And Aunt May would be disappointed in me." Peter lowered his gaze to the table. "And so would Mr. Stark."

Rocket felt his heart break for Peter at that moment. He knew how much Tony Stark meant to the teenager. The fallen Avenger was his mentor and the closest thing to a father he ever had, and he could still see the look on the kid's tear-stained face as he watched Stark fade away right in front of him.

The raccoon sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. He wouldn't want ya to stoop that low. I dunno, I...I've always been a hothead. And to be honest with you, I blew people up for less. It wasn't until I met Quill and the others that I changed for the better. They helped me to see that being an a**hole doesn't accomplish anything. It just makes things worse."

"Yeah," Peter nodded. "Exactly."

Rocket gave him a warm smile and pat on the arm. "You know, Stark would be proud of ya."

"You think so?" Peter asked softly.

"I know so. And I know you're trying to fill his shoes and all, but he would've wanted you to stay Spider-Man and not become, you know, an Iron Junior or anything like that. 'Cause it was Spider-Man whom he believed in."

After hearing those words, Peter recalled an argument he had with Stark after the ferry incident, and what the Avenger told him that day would stick with him forever.

"I just wanted to be like you."

"And I wanted you to be better."

He could feel his good eye tearing up but quickly blinked it away. Clearing his throat, he looked back at Rocket. "So you won't...?"

Rocket shook his head. "I won't do anything stupid."

"Good." Peter stood up and walked toward the fridge. "So what are you hungry for?"

Rocket pulled out a small device and typed in something on the screen. "Payback," he said below his breath.

Peter immediately looked back at him. "What was that?"

The raccoon grinned innocently. "I said, 'flapjacks'."

...

"'Take out the trash, take out the trash'," Flash mumbled to himself as he carried two full garbage bags outside to the curb. "What's next, wax the car?"

He froze when he noticed that their trash can had been knocked over and something was digging around in it. When he saw the bushy ringed tail that was poking out, he groaned, "Son of a..."

He dropped the bags and went back inside his house. Less than a minute later, he returned with a broom. "Hey! Hey, get outta there!" He pounded on the can a couple of times with the broom, hoping to scare the animal out. "Scram, you stupid raccoon!"

The animal finally started to back out of the can, and Flash's jaw dropped when it revealed itself fully.

The raccoon was wearing some kind of strange suit, standing on two legs, and pointing a large gun at him. "Who you callin' a 'stupid raccoon', ya dumb ape?" he sneered.

Flash dropped the broom and started to stammer, too scared to even run away. "Y...You...You...can-?"

"'Talk'?" Rocket finished for him. "Yeah, and I can also disintegrate your balls with this thing." He aimed the device at Flash's lower area.

Flash immediately began to panic and plead as he covered his groin. "Wait! Nononononono! Please don't do that! Please!"

"Awww, don't wanna lose your manhood, tough guy?" Rocket mocked. "Since you take your frustrations out on weaker kids, I'm guessing it's smaller than normal. Do yourself a favor and see a psychiatrist. But first, I want you to apologize to Peter Parker for all the sh** you put him through."

"P-Parker?" Flash squeaked, and Rocket almost laughed at how pathetic and scared he sounded.

"Yeah, Parker. He's a good kid, and he doesn't deserve to be anyone's punching bag."

"How-How do you know Park-?"

"None of your beeswax," Rocket snapped. "All you need to know is that I care about Parker enough to track you down and come all the way to this dump just so that I can have a word with you. So you'll believe me when I tell you that if you mess with Parker, you mess with me."

Flash gulped and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"And trust me, you don't wanna mess with someone like me, 'cause unlike Parker, I'm not so forgiving."

Flash nodded again. "Yes, sir."

"Now go back inside and tell no one about our little conservation."

Without saying a word, Flash turned and sprinted back into the house.

Rocket smiled to himself in satisfaction, then he looked back into the can and spotted something that caught his interest. He pulled out a Cats DVD case and inspected the disc inside. "Huh. Looks to be in perfect shape. Why would they throw this out?"

...

When Peter returned to school the next morning, he was immediately greeted by students who were worried about him due to his black eye, and he assured them all that it was no big deal. He was about to open his locker when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around and was surprised to see Flash standing behind him.

His classmate was a complete mess. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was uncombed, like he had just gotten out of bed but didn't get a wink of sleep. "Hey, Parker," he said with a nervous smile. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

Peter blinked. "Um, yeah. Did you?"

"Oh, yeah, slept like a rock," Flash said, though he was clearly lying. "So, um, listen, about yesterday, it was really stupid and immature of me to pound on you like that. You did nothing to deserve that and I apologize for it, and I swear I'll never do it again." He held his hand out for Peter to shake. "So we're good?"

Peter hesitated before he shook, puzzled by Flash's sudden strange behavior. "Yeah, we're good."

Flash nodded enthusiastically. "Great! See you in class!" He turned and started down the hall when he saw something that nearly made him jump out of his skin.

Another student had a taxidermy raccoon that he was going to use in a science presentation.

Flash screamed and backed into the lockers, covering his groin. "DON'T SHOOT MY BALLS!" Then he ran as fast as he could down the hall. The others kids stared after him for a moment before they started to laugh.

After witnessing that, Peter finally understood what was going on. He smiled to himself and pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to a certain raccoon that he knew: Thanks Rocket.

Almost immediately he got a response:

;)

Happy Birthday, Shinigamilover2!