I liivvvveeeee! Man, did this chapter mess me up. I can't remember if I ever struggled this much with a chapter before. But finally, I made it.

So the wait is over, guys. And since you have been waiting for so long, this chapter is slightly longer.

Hope you all enjoy!

Groot blinked once, twice and finally a third time. Because he didn't understand. He didn't understand what Rocket meant by that, what hurt so much.

He knew his best friend was in pain, anyone could see it. But he also knew this wasn't physical pain Rocket was talking about. No, Rocket was hurting as much mentally as he was in body.

And Rocket was scared. More than that, he was terrified.

Which concerned Groot more than anything. He had only known Rocket to be that terrified once and that had been many years ago, from he had still been held captive at the facility on Halfworld.

While Groot had not been there to witness Rocket's life at Halfworld, he had been there for the aftermath. From what Rocket had told him, he had only escaped two weeks prior to the two of them meeting and Groot had known from the moment he had met his best friend that Rocket wasn't as 'alright' as he made everyone believe.

Rocket, back then, had flinched at every sound and jumped at every moving shadow. He had stuck to the alleys and backstreets, never venturing out into the open unless absolutely necessary. He always kept his back covered, always made sure he had a way to escape and he never went everywhere without being armed. He refused to sleep until he was about to kneel over in exhaustion and even then, he never fully relaxed and always kept his gun close, his grip never easing around the weapon even in his sleep.

After Groot had become a part of his life and with time, some of those things change. Rocket no longer flinched and he could venture out into the streets, knowing and trusting Groot enough to punch anyone who dared threaten him.

Granted, he still always had an escape plan laid out and he still never went anywhere without at least one gun, but he didn't refuse sleep anymore. He didn't feel threatened enough to force himself to stay awake, at least not when surrounded by the Guardians. Heck, Groot had seen Rocket willingly fall asleep on the couch next to Gamora, actually trusting the assassin to, if not protect him, then to at least not hurt him.

Groot had seen him relaxed in Drax's presence despite the destroyer's booming voice and wild gestures whenever the man shared a part of his past with them. Before, such actions would have made Rocket flinch before he would have as quickly as possibly removed himself from the situation and to a safe location.

The giant could even remember once, when Rocket had been injured during a mission, he had actually allowed Peter to treat the wound. Rocket had never allowed someone to that before, not even him. Anything that reminded him of lab equipment, even something so small as bandages, was not allowed near him. He had always treated his own wounds, trusting no one to do it for him.

Except, Peter had been allowed only a few weeks ago.

It had been a long and gruesome mission, which had led to them all sustaining injuries. He had lost both arms and his left leg. Drax had suffered a concussion, leaving the Destroyer confused and uncoordinated. Gamora had suffered a broken leg and it had taken a few hours to heal, despite her modifications. Peter had been shot in the shoulder, which had taken twelve stitches to seal, and four cracked ribs.

And Rocket had broken two fingers and, having been thrown into a cliff, had suffered a rather large wound on the back of his head. He would have managed to set his own fingers just fine, but had not been able to reach the wound on the back of his head properly. Groot had wanted to help, but had lacked the necessary limbs to be of any use.

Flashback

Groot crooned softly as he moved his shoulders up and down and wiggled the stump that had once been his leg, frustrating more than anything that he had lost three limbs and on just one mission. It wasn't like it had hurt, but they still took time to grow back and when they did, they itched. And now he couldn't even scratch when it would.

He looked up when there was the sudden noise of something heavy slamming into the floor and found Drax sprawled face down on the metal surface, the Destroyer's legs and arms spread out. Gamora, who had been seated beside him on the couch, looked down at the man and raised an unimpressed eyebrow, her leg elevated by two pillows.

"I will probably regret asking, but Drax, why the Hell did you fall of the couch?"

Drax lifted one of his arms and waved his hand around like a maniac.

"I did not fall. The floor desired a hug from the mighty Destroyer!"

The room grew quiet, because really, how do you respond to that? Groot shared a look with Gamora, but the assassin shook her head and went back to splinting her leg. She made no moment to help Drax back to the couch, but to be fair, the man looked rather content where he was.

A few moments later, Peter walked into the room but stopped short when he saw his teammate on the floor. He stared at the man for a second and then raised his gaze to Gamora.

"What's with him?"

Gamora didn't look up.

"Apparently a concussed Drax is the same as a drunk Drax."

"And he's on the floor why?"

"He said it 'desired' a hug."

Peter perched his lips and nodded.

"Aha. Well, as long as he is happy."

"He does seem very content."

Peter could hear the fondness in Gamora's voice, but decided not to comment on it. His ribs ached and he didn't feel like going a round with an angry assassin, because she would kick his ass, broken leg or not.

CRACK!

They all jumped at the sickening sound of cracking bones, side from Drax who was still hugging the floor, and spun around towards the source of the sound.

Rocket was sitting by the only table in the room, glaring down at his left hand. Or particular, two of his fingers. His middle one was slightly swollen while his index was painfully bent to the side, clearly broken.

With a grumble Rocket reached up with his other, grabbed his finger and snapped it back in place. The rest of the team winced at the sound but Rocket didn't make a sound, he only continued to glare down at his hand and reached for the medical kit that was placed in front of him on the table.

Only, his paw found nothing but empty air.

Looking up, he found Peter standing to the right of him, holding the first aid kit and smiling down at him. The Terran seemed almost nervous, judging by the tightness of the smile and the way he clutched the small box with both hands.

Without meaning to, Rocket tensed up and his muscled tightened beneath his skin. In the split of a second, his mind and body had forced itself into a state of awareness, ready to fight would it come down to it.

Groot almost called out to Peter to warn the Terran to step back, despite knowing that he wouldn't be understood. When Rocket slipped into a state such as this and when he also was injured, his mind would almost undoubtedly slip into 'fight or flight' mode.

But Peter surprised them all when he only softened his smile and dragged one of the chairs over. He sat down, keeping his movements slow and making sure Rocket could see what he was doing.

"Hey, Bud. Need some help?"

Rocket stared at the Terran for a long moment and everyone in the room held their breath. Groot was so sure his best friend would refuse, would snap at Peter to leave him alone.

But then Rocket's ears flickered and something in his eyes flashed, something Groot couldn't place but still was relieved to see. Slowly, he looked back at his hand and after a moment of hesitation, he held it out towards Peter.

"Sure, why the fuck not?"

It was said so carelessly but everyone could clearly see how tense Rocket was, how much on edge he was. He would never allow anyone aside from Groot to touch him. And yet, now, he had allowed Peter to do just that.

He had given Peter a chance.

Still keeping his movements slow, Peter placed the kit back on the table and opened it. He pulled out some padding, knowing that the tape would hurt Rocket once it had to be removed because of his fur. He then reached for Rocket's hand, keeping an eye on the raccoon at all times, for a signal for him to stop.

But Rocket only stared at the table. He was still tense and his ears kept flickering, but he didn't pull away. He forced himself to remain in his seat, despite the fact that every fiber in his body was screaming at him to run.

And yet, he remained.

His hackles rose the instant the padding wrapped around his fingers and the right side of his higher lip rose to relieve a sharp fang. And as the tape was brought out, a deep dull growl sounded from deep within his chest. But he didn't lash out.

At the moment, he was uttering a warning. A warning Peter respected, as he once again slowed his movements and then, he quietly began to hum a quite tone. And as the tone was carried through the room, the growl died down and his ears stopped twitching. His hackles slowly lowered until the his fur laid smooth against his neck.

Groot looked, astonished, as Rocket's slowly slipped out of his tense state, his shoulders unraveling and his eyes finally losing their distrust. He had only every seen Rocket so relaxed in someone's presence and it had been his. But there was never a thought of jealousness that he no longer was the only one who Rocket trusted.

If anything, he was relieved and most of all, he was proud.

Proud that Rocket had allowed himself to trust someone and proud of Peter for showing that he deserved that trust.

They were finally becoming something more than a team.

They were becoming a family.

"There you go, bud." Peter's voice broke the silence that had settled in the room. "That wound on your head sure looks nasty. Want some help with that too?"

Rocket only blinked for a moment, before he reached up with his uninjured hand and felt as his neck. As he pulled his hand back, he started at the blood that now coated his fingers with lost eyes. He frowned, as if only realizing the injury existed after Peter had mentioned it.

He then glanced at Peter, the Terran having seized all movements as the distrust once more flashed in Rocket's eyes. And Groot found himself worrying that his best friend would refuse.

Letting Peter wrap his fingers was one thing, but allowing the Terran to tend to his head was a whole other level of trust. One the giant wasn't sure Rocket yet was willing to place in Peter.

Letting Peter access the wound would mean allowing the man to access his back, which meant he was at greater risk to be attacked. Allowing himself to be so open to an attack was something the raccoon would never let happen. Groot was the only exception of that the rule and Rocket still wasn't completely relaxed with him.

Rocket had already put a great amount of trust in Peter, but Groot feared this was something his best friend would not accept and that there would still be a great amount of time before he did.

But then, Rocket surprised him by placing his hand on the table and slowly nodding.

The room fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds Peter's soft humming and Drax's snoring, as the concussed Destroyer had finally fallen asleep. The atmosphere in the ship changed and Groot found himself smiling softly as he watched the Terran care for their smallest member.

Something had changed the moment Rocket had accepted Peter's help and Groot felt nothing but proud. Proud that Rocket had been brave enough to move forward, for allowing himself to place trust in someone.

They were moving forward.