Author's Note: This chapter occurs three years after Guardians of the Galaxy volume two. Apologies for this chapter being so short; I haven't written anything in a while, so even a short chapter is better than nothing. I'll try to make a longer one soon; I needed to write something so I don't get rusty. I hope you enjoy it.

Rocket was fucking tired.

It wasn't enough that the Benatar had a large, gaping hole on the right side due to pirate attacks creeping up on the galaxy more and more.

Or that Peter had been arguing with him on every fucking thing concerning the ship due to said pirate attacks, along with Peter and Gamora having verbal fights with their relationship that was starting to affect the whole team.

Kraglin drank way more than usual; it would be impressive if he ever bothered to stay awake on his guard duties.

Drax was starting to repeat his stories from his past to ease the tension lingering among the ship like a fog, and Nebula bounced temporarily to get away from the drama.

Not that Rocket could blame her in the slightest; part of him wishes he would have joined her.

Groot stayed in his fucking room all day playing video games save for meal times or when Peter needed the teenager for a mission, and Rocket would have been furious had it not been for the fact that he knew the real reason was to keep his distance until everyone figured their shit out.

Rocket questioned whether joining a team was worth it in moments like this.

As he turned the wrench harder in his paws and bared his fangs, just thinking of the shitstorm that was happening today gave him a headache.

He needed to get away from it all, so he did what was always done and focused on his work; he was currently trying to seal the hole while they landed on an unknown planet and did his best to stay as far away from everyone as possible.

"Rocket?" Mantis called out to him.

Her voice immediately made his chest tighten as he bit his bottom lip.

"Yeah, baby girl?" He answered, knowing that if he didn't respond when he had the chance, she would hunt him down, and his girlfriend was much faster than most would assume.

"I brought you a sandwich; you have been working for hours. I'd assume you would be hungry by now." She spoke; Rocket couldn't help but smile at her thoughtfulness and care as he rolled his shoulders with a yawn.

He was getting rather hungry now that he thought about it.

With a sigh, Rocket put down the wrench and stood up with a significant stretch before he turned and saw Mantis holding a plate with the food in her hands with a smile, having a seat on a medium-sized rock near her and being careful with the plate before he joined her.

"Thanks, Bug." He said sincerely, taking the plate from her hands before she leaned down and gave him a long, slow kiss, which caused his tail to wag in content after she pulled away.

She giggled at the giant smile on his face and put her hands on her lap with a sigh as he leaned against her body and dug into his food, feeling more hungry than he thought.

As he ate, Mantis slowly and calmly stroked his head; his fur never failed to make her relax, and she didn't even need to use her ability to tell that he was calmer than he had been in days, if only for a brief moment.

They did nothing more than be in each other presence, and once Rocket finished his food, he put his plate to the side and slowly ended up on her lap, wrapped around her arms before tilting his head up as she smiled and leaned down to give him another long, slow kiss.

"I love you." He whispered.

It was so quiet that if Mantis weren't as trained to Rocket's way of affection as she was, she wouldn't have even heard him.

She gave a small, calm smile before she placed her chin between his ears and stroked his arms with her fingers.

"And I love you, Rocket." She answered genuinely, and though she couldn't see his expression, Mantis knew that the two had nothing more they needed to say.

She knew without a shadow of a doubt that her love meant everything to him.

Because monsters rarely received genuine romantic love.