Author's Note: This takes place a year after Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two. Grammarly Premium will edit all chapters.
The Benatar drifted lazily around the planet Tareon. At the same time, the inhabitants of the M-Ship groggily awoke to start the day and begin their week-long scavenger hunt for the Zakions.
The intelligent and sentient multi-colored pegasus race could manipulate the different colored fire stored in their bodies to their will, including using it as a flamethrower from their mouths and flying tremendously faster after alighting their hooves.
They desperately needed an ancient and scarce frozen flower to keep their race alive.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were all too happy to find the single plant that could supposedly keep them alive for one hundred years for the soon-to-be dying race since the horses were not equipped for space travel yet.
Still, they had the intelligence to contact other life forms outside their world.
The pay had better be worth all the hassle, that was for damn sure, and if possible, they would try to snag extra flowers for the ponies.
That forward-thinking had to be worth the extra credits, especially since the winged herbivores needed it since their stock was nearly non-existent, and they had contacted the rag-tag group of freaks in the first place, right?
Kraglin Obfonteri shuffled through the ship like a zombie from where his shift ended on the bridge, watching for any sneak attacks from unsuspecting armed ships looking to steal Units, weapons, and other accommodations or, even worst, enslave people if they were fucking scumbags.
He was also alert to distress calls from estranged or attacked ships that would no doubt be willing to offer compensation in response to being rescued.
The Guardians never claimed to be heroes after all, and doing anything from the kindness of their hearts was certainly not their style.
They still needed to eat.
Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan had missed the call for shift change again.
Kraglin was fine giving her a pass here or there, but this was the third time in a month that she had ignored the chime that sounded in each occupant's room for rotation.
He was honestly starting to get annoyed with the Zehoberei, ignoring the critical need for him to get a break for sleep, food, or bathroom breaks.
Leaving only one to be on high alert all day or night was very dangerous for the crew, not that the concept of time meant an absolute thing in the frigid void of space since it was hard to tell without the exact holo clocks on the ship.
He may have been a nearly dead sleepy zombie, but he was a rather pissed-off one.
The older ex-Ravager entered the kitchen and caught sight of Mantis, Rocket, Groot, and Nebula eating different food for what could technically be called breakfast if the holo clock, which showed the current Earth time, was any indication.
He was surprised that Rocket was awake as he usually slept in later.
He worked very late on different projects, long after others had gone to bed and sometimes as long as shift rotation among the ship.
Groot looked as though he wanted to go back to sleep as quickly as possible, not that Kraglin could blame the growing Flora Colossus, who was currently the size of a small child, close to ten years old, and certainly acted like one at times.
The heavy sentient tree was asking questions about the fire-breathing horses they had met yesterday while eating a vegetarian stuffed omelet with a purple-colored sauce that Kraglin had momentarily forgotten the name of as he suddenly wanted one for himself, only stuffed with meat.
Rocket scratched his face with a giant yawn, his razor-sharp teeth became fully visible, and with an exhausted sigh, he reached for the steaming, glorious cup of Nirvana in front of him with a paw.
Thankful to the others that they had found glasses and cups suitable for his size as he took a slow, patient sip of his dark coffee.
He sat in an elevated chair so he didn't have to sit on the table; Mantis sat next to him, casually eating a bowl of cereal, while Groot ate across from him, eagerly taking a bite of his food.
Rocket planned to eat later; for now, he wanted a hot cup of joe, as Peter called it, and was not feeling hungry.
It got that way sometimes for him, where he got so invested in the work that he forgot to eat or didn't feel hungry, but when Rocket did, he was a force to be reckoned with for someone as small as he was.
Nebula was across the kitchen, multitasking with cleaning one of their modified sniper rifles with meticulous professional care and patience while snacking on a roasted, seasoned Orloni as she alternated between the gun and food.
Almost as if this hadn't been the first time she had cleaned or repaired while eating, sitting on the stairs that led to the bridge.
The illegally cybernetic-enhanced raccoon flicked his tail in irritation as he listened to Groot talk far, far too much for what was supposed to be relaxation before they started their day.
He loved Groot like a son, but Christ was he starting to exhaust Rocket with his nonstop questions some days.
"Groot, eat your food, please. Your father is trying to enjoy his coffee." Mantis's soft, almost loving voice as she interrupted the talking tree felt like a cool sip of water in a desert during such moments.
Even though it was unintentional that she mothered Groot alongside him, he was grateful for it nonetheless.
With a subtle glance her way in appreciation, he caught her ghost of a smile.
He didn't shy away from her fingers, slowly reaching and gently stroking the fur on his left front paw, his right near his coffee, until he wanted another sip.
The fingers dragged across the back of his hand in a manner that most would consider passionate.
Mantis's hand was gone so quickly the next second.
She brought the fist to her mouth as she cleared her throat in a way that Rocket would qualify as fucking adorable before he realized the reason she had done it, as Kraglin had turned around from where he was preparing his omelet.
The Xandarian looked at the two with an unreadable expression as he caught Rocket's gaze before reaching for a cup to get his coffee.
It was ignored by Groot, who was taking a long pull of his juice.
The small rodent resisted the urge to sigh in disappointment as he swallowed a giant mouthful of coffee, flicking his tail in annoyance at the wrong timing.
They had talked about this a week ago; Mantis wanted to inform the others on board the ship that they were dating and had been for a month.
She was adamant that their insane, dangerous family would accept them given enough time.
Still, Rocket was terrified that they would be disgusted seeing the two being affectionate, even if it was simply in the confines of the ship.
He didn't want contempt and scorn for what could have easily been a borderline illegal relationship in the eyes of many, especially not for someone as kind and caring as Mantis.
She didn't deserve that, and he certainly didn't deserve her.
But the look in her eyes as she took another bite of her cereal and looked at him made his heart practically stop in his chest for a second; it wasn't the entire crew, but perhaps if a few of them knew the truth, it could be a step in the right direction.
Rocket cleared his throat rather loudly, catching the attention of those in their small circle of friends before he brazenly reached his left paw over to grasp Mantis's hand.
He was taking a sizeable nervous breath before he spoke, not wanting to look any of them in the eyes, even Groot, as he looked at the table before him instead.
"We got something to tell you guys…Mantis and I are seeing each other. You know, as more than friends." He felt like his fur would catch fire at any moment at the confession.
Mantis, for her part, had a smile almost as big as her large black eyes, her antennas pointed up at the ceiling as straight as arrows, and before Rocket could react, she reached over and captured his lips in a long, breathtaking kiss before pulling away.
The kind that made him know he wouldn't get up in a minute or two without utterly humiliating himself and scarring all on board.
He hoped his girlfriend would be willing to take the next step in their relationship with him soon, or he would lose his mind.
The feeling of their hands together was awkward due to the different sizes.
Still, it felt natural to him if he was honest.
The love and admiration she held in her eyes for him at this moment made Rocket feel he could take on an entire ship of pirates by himself.
He sincerely hoped the warm feeling in his chest never left.
"We know." Nebula's flat, bored tone as she returned to her gun without pause extinguished Rocket's relaxed, almost surreal relief at finally telling others what the two had dreaded for nearly the entire week like a candle being taken out by a puff of air.
"You two aren't nearly as clever as you think when it comes to sneaking around the ship," Kraglin responded with a yawn before he took a sip of his hot coffee and shook his head with a smirk.
Mantis's cheeks were pure lime green in embarrassment and disbelief at the accusation that they weren't being as careful as possible regarding their relationship.
Rocket's face was almost comical as he looked between the cyborg and the Xandarian in genuine shock, entirely at a loss for words for once before he looked at his adopted son, who acknowledged him with an innocent smile and a shrug.
"You're telling me you knew all this time, Groot?!" He couldn't help himself; his shout of rage caused Mantis and Groot to jump at the sudden outburst.
"I am Groot." The small tree answered confidently with a bit of sass that Rocket didn't appreciate.
Mantis has been coming to our room more often, Dad. I knew you were close, but I didn't realize how close until now.
"Have they finally confessed their romantic attraction towards each other out loud and freed us from the pain of the utterly awful attempts at stealth?" Drax the Destroyer's voice, might as well have announced it over the entire ship.
Rocket felt his fur bristle in shame, guilt, and rage at the excuses he told Mantis when she wanted to let their friends know they were together publicly.
"Does everyone and their fucking mother know about us!" He screeched, immediately feeling guilty after seeing Mantis flinch beside him.
Squeezing the hand he still held softly as an apology.
He sighed loudly before seeing Mantis reach over and gently kiss his cheek as he did his best to prevent himself from blushing.
"It was pretty obvious, dude; we didn't say anything because we didn't feel it was our business. As long as you two are happy, we ain't gonna be up in arms about it." Peter Quill spoke casually as he calmly walked towards the bridge to get to work, Drax and Nebula quickly following him.
Soon the new couple was alone; even Groot had left, and the two silently finished their coffee and cereal.
"I'm sorry," Rocket whispered to the half-Celestial before he looked up to stare into her onyx-colored eyes. "I made such an ass out of myself disregarding how you felt because I was scared of how they would react."
He finished, tears pricking the edge of his eyes before he cleared his throat.
"I know. And I know you didn't do it on purpose, Rocket. Next time, please consider my feelings. We are a team, not just with the others but with each other." Mantis answered as Rocket nodded slowly.
She gave him one more long, slow kiss on the lips.
The action and passion of the kiss made him growl with lust as she giggled, pulling back.
"We agreed to take it slow, Rocky." She spoke and kissed his lips again as he hummed softly and sighed loudly before nodding.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, let's find this damn flower for these horses and get paid." He replied, shamelessly jumping onto the table and collecting the dishes to put into the sink.
A concealed and eager part of him that Mantis had never seen up close caused a shiver down her spine as he merely winked at her.
And she bit her lip with a barely audible moan.
That next step may come sooner than Rocket expected.