Rocky Quill

SCANNING…IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE. ENTER [ROCKET ‘ROCKY’ QUILL], [CHILD] OF [PETER QUILL]. CODENAME: [ROCKET].  A [22]  [ SECOND] YEAR ENROLLED IN THE [AGENT] TRACK. INTEL SHOWS THEY ARE [PASSIONATE], BUT CAN ALSO BE [SELF DESTRUCTIVE]. ABILITIES INCLUDE [EXPERT HACKING AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS & FIGHTING SKILLS]. FACIAL RECOGNITION MISTAKES THEM FOR [CHARLES MELTON].

“Oh it’s nothing but some paper!there’s plenty really. Take whateever you like.” Mar'i told him, returning his smile with one of her own. Her mother always said she had her father’s smile. The one that could bring even the most stubborn down on their knees. Mar'i liked being able to help people. Not just as a hero but on the regular day to day. Perhaps it was apart of her, the princess mindset of wanting to care for her people. The mention of her mother made her heart squeeze. “That’s me.” she nodded, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. “How about this? I’ll be setting up a few more things here. IF you have any questions you can just ask them out loud. And if i happen to hear them, I’ll help.” she shrugged. It was just the two of them in the library anyway.

“As long as it’s not going to leave you short or anything..” he smiled, hesitating for a moment before Rocket reached over to take another sheet of paper - just in case. He had never been one to enjoy studying, always growing frustrated far too quickly at how difficult it could be for him to learn at times that Rocket had simply grown to prefer avoiding it altogether. He hadn’t needed good grades to learn how to build a ship, after all. Something told him that he would need some to get out of this place, however, and he would prefer that that time came sooner rather than later. “You look like her” he nodded, giving a gentle smile before he settled back into his seat, pencil at the ready. Minutes passed before he spoke up again, far less bravado in his tone. “I can’t read it” he admitted quietly, face crimson as he continued to stare down at the paper before him. 

“Look you want to be mad at me from protecting you? FINE. But be mad for shit that’s actually true. I’ve done enough fucked up shit without you making shit up in your head.” Valentina’s hand was flying out before she could think about it, aiming right for his stupid handsome jaw. A means to an END. No, the gang was a means to the end. This school was a means to the end. Even Bruce, who unexpectantly became more, began as a means to an end. All of them pawns in something much grander she planned. But Rocket? Rocket was her beginning. “I don’t care if I need to set this world on fire . The world will burn around us and I’ll gladly live in chaos as long as the only person that is a danger to you is me. I’ll always put your life before either of our wants. You want to hate me for it? Fine. But stop acting like a spoiled brat about it.” she hissed. “You’re the one that stopped me from leaving remember? YOU did.”

Rocket didn’t have enough time to react, never expecting that she would ever actually hurt him (which regrettably only further proved her point) and he stumbled, taking a step back as his hand reached for his jaw, a flash of disbelief in his eyes before he forced his expression to harden. “You chose for me” he frowned. “You don’t get to be pissed that seeing you doesn’t make me feel breathless anymore or that I’m not helplessly head over heels for you, alright? You don’t get to be mad when I’m giving you exactly what you wanted” He huffed. “You’re the one that keeps approaching me, Val” Rocket pointed out. “You are the one that can’t let it go - Can’t let me go. You couldn’t before and you can’t now. It’s not my fault or my problem anymore.”

Catching up with him was easy for her but his pace was quicker than a brisk walk. “You’re running from me now Quill?” she asked boldly. Felt odd not having him walk her to class or make some sort of joke to make her laugh. Things were definitely different between them now and yet she couldn’t keep her distance as hard as she may try, from all three of them. “Sure.” she said releasing the book into his hands. 

“What? No, I was just-“ he sighed. Rocket hadn’t been expecting her to call him out so boldly but either way, he couldn’t lie to Daphne. “Maybe a little?” he winced. There was no easy way to admit something like that, but it wasn’t his intention to hurt her. He’d already made enough of a mess without adding to the pile and besides, Daphne didn’t deserve it. “I just thought…I don’t know. After everything I guess I thought a clean break might be easier for you” She hadn’t exactly been unclear about her feelings over what Valentina had done. What Rocket had helped her do. And besides, he would only risk tarnishing her reputation if he didn’t pull away now. He was a criminal, even if she refused to acknowledge it a lot of the time, and he would probably go right back to stealing when he got out of this place anyways. He’d simply be better at it this time around.

james’ head was buried in a book. they were extremely focused to get something done today. their mind was all over the place – everywhere, all at once. they had never been able to focus much or stay on topic, but they were determined to at least try. their grandfather always chuckled at the energy that james had, nobody quite knew where they got it from, certainly not laura or logan. gabby’s influence, perhaps? gabby was the most chaotic ball of energy anyone in the family had ever seen. 

“ hm? “ james picked up their head, eyebrows furrowed together. they were confused for a moment about who or what had spoken and what they needed.

“ oh!! “ eyes go wide for a moment. “ um - yeah - sure - yeah - of course, “ james nodded, almost too quickly. they ripped a piece of paper from their notebook and handed it to the lost soul. “ just one? that’s it?! “

“Thanks, you’re a real life saver” Rocket offered up an apologetic grin, regretting that he had pulled the other from their book. They had seemed rather invested in it, after all. “I can make it work” he promised, unwilling to ask for any more than just the one. He was used to flying by the seat of his pants, anyways and years in space had made Rocket rather resourceful. Anything to avoid leaning too heavily on others around him. “Can I make it up to you sometime? I could...I don’t know, buy lunch or something?”

Daphne had stared at the notebook her dropped. It slid out from the books he was carrying under his arm. She wasn’t sure what to say to him, or Val or Bruce and so she had avoided them, left for the break and had disappeared into her hero life at home. Now things had resumed and everything was up in the air. She battled with herself before ultimately grabbing the notebook off the floor and flying next to him her feet touching the ground softly. “You dropped this back there.” she said handing him the notebook. @rockxtquill​

It hadn’t been hard to withdraw himself from Daphne given that he’d had no choice but to stay behind while all of the students that weren’t part of the rehabilitation program got to enjoy their breaks but keeping that distance up now that she was back was harder than Rocket anticipated. He hadn’t hesitated to make himself scarce when he spotted her across the room, moving so quickly that he hadn’t noticed that he’d dropped anything. “Oh-” he took the book quickly, about to start off again before he realised he was at his next class. “Thanks...”

Valentina’s jaw clenched at his words. “I’ve never done that.” she growled at him. Valentina would move heaven and earth for Rocky and he knew that. He was a weakness for her. The last shred of her humanity she had to hold onto. He went to lung at her and she felt the brush of his fist. She’d barely dodged it. He’d been training. She made a mental note not to under estimate him. “All I ever did was try to keep you safe. And all you EVER do is protest it. So if you want something to bitch about maybe make it something that’s true.” 

Maybe that was unfair but Rocket couldn’t help it. It was this or forgiving her and he wasn’t sure that he knew how to be on good terms with Valentina and now fall into the same patterns all over again. “I never asked you to” he spat, shaking his head. “What the fuck do you want me to say, Val? You want me to tell you that everything is fine? I was always a means to an end with you and I’m not going to make you feel better about it” She was never going to leave Bruce. This was the only way that it was ever going to end, so why not now? 

It was the beginning of a new semester, and just like every year that meant Mar’i was swamped due to her multitude of leadership positions. This particular task was setting up the tutors and their tutees. She always like to host a little meet in greet in one of the private rooms in the library. After an afternoon of that she took a seat, giving a sigh of exhaustion. She practically jumped out of her chair when someone whispered in her ear. “Oh! Yes actually.” she said reaching into one of the boxes with extra supplies. She always brought them to the meet and greet seeing that most of the villain kids never had the means for what they needed. “You can keep it. I have tons.” she told him with a bright smile. “You know, I’m a tutor. Is the anything I could help with? You’re…Rocky right? Wylder’s friend?”

Rocket blinked, not expecting to be met with such a level of enthusiasm. “Oh, cool. Thanks” he smiled, nodding as he took the sheets of paper from her. He had seen her around given that she was all about helping when it came to the rehab program but this was probably the first time Rocket has spoken to her willingly. “Oh...Yeah, that’s me” he nodded again. He hadn’t expected her to start any kind of actual conversation with him but it was the least he could do after she had helped him out. “Mar’i, right? Starfire’s kid” It was hard not to make the resemblance with the hair. “I don’t know...” He wasn’t great at asking for help at the best of times, but definitely not about this. 

This was good. This was right. She DESERVED for him to cut her off like this. She knew that. Still, Valentina was never good at handling rejection. Even in situations she cultivated herself. “Fine, because fighting in complete silence is always fun.” she rolled her eyes. She waited for him to get into position before lunging at him. It was quick, years of forced training and survival made her able to take down men two sometimes even three times her size. “The least you could do is make me work for this win.” she edged him on. Anything to get something other than this god damned indifference.

“Why not? I thought that you liked hurting me without protest” Rocket couldn’t hold back the bite from his words as their eyes met. He had lost count of the amount of times that Valentina had insisted that she could never let anything hurt him, all while he was blinded to the way that she continued to twist her knife into his heart. The further back he stepped, the more clearly he could see that whatever they had once had wasn’t love. Couldn’t have been farther from it, in fact. You didn’t hurt somebody that you loved like that. You just couldn’t. He knew that she was trying to get under his skin with her goading and Rocky resented that it was working. That undying need to prove himself taking charge as he pushed himself to stand, hardly waiting for her to get back into position before he lunged. 

Closed starter for @rockxtquill​

It had been weeks since Rocket first found Valentina trying to sneak away. She had been panicked and sloppy. And he called her out on it, probably saving her life. What if he comes here to find out where you went? The words haunted her, because he was right. If she didn’t do things perfectly, everyone she was trying to protect would end up dead. That meant being prepared for every scenario. To make sure he lived. Even if it meant he hated her. And based on the cold shoulder, more like a blizzard, she was sure he was on that road. The way it should be. But of course, she pissed off enough possibly every god in existence. That was the only way she could explain how out of all the people in her class, she somehow got paired up with Rocket. “I know you’re not happy about this, let’s just get through it.” she said to him, getting into position. 

Rocket had had no choice but to push Valentina away and the only way to guarantee that he wouldn’t fall right back into the same old cycle with her was to remain indifferent. Valentina had been right that first night back in their shared dorm; they had never been friends and it felt impossible for them to be anything close to that now. They had been through far too much together. It was time for a clean break. “I don’t remember her saying that we needed to talk to complete the exercise - But you can go first” he finally spoke, eyes meeting hers for a moment as he swallowed the lump in his throat, jaw tightening as he got into position opposite her, waiting to block her movements. 

Rocket had been doing all that he could to fly under the radar after the mess that he had made for himself between Valentina and Daphne, even going as far as to switch up his usual routines in order to avoid certain aforementioned ghosts of his past in his last ditch effort to move on. That was how he had wound up in the last place Rocket had expected to find himself; Study Hall. His textbooks looked practically brand new given that they’d hardly been touched since his first day. It had been a silent protest against the cage they had locked him in but after everything that had happened in the last few months, Rocket would rather study and keep himself out of the spotlight. It was only as he settled down into a seat at the back that it occurred to him that he hadn’t thought to bring a notebook. “Hey-” he whispered, leaning in closer to the person sat beside him. “Do you have a piece of paper I could borrow or something? Got a lot of catching up to do here”

Daphne smoothed down her black dress swallowing down her nerves. She hadn’t been on a date in years, not since Bruce and thinking about it almost made her toss her lunch. She’d almost cancelled about a dozen times too worried that she’d ruin things or say something stupid or he’d change his mind, but she figured if she cancelled on him she would in fact ruin things. So instead Daphne took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back, had Mar’i pick out an outfit for her and headed to meet Rocky. Her nerves eased when she saw him though and suddenly those nervous feelings were replaced with giddiness. “Thank you, you don’t clean up so bad yourself.” she grinned wide slinging her dark red purse over her shoulder. Daphne nodded lifting up on her tiptoes and stealing a quick kiss mostly because she couldn’t wait to do it again and also she figured it would help calm her nerves. “I’m ready, you’ve kept everything a surprise, I hope this is okay.” she said gesturing to her outfit. 

“Oh, I know” Rocky teased, grinning as he threw her a playful wink. He was aware that he was an attractive guy but still, it felt nice to get complimented on it. Especially by Daphne. “Hmm I could definitely get used to that” Rocket chuckled after she kissed him again. “It’s perfect” he was quick to assure her. “We do have to go up the fire escape, though...although, I suppose that actually isn’t a problem considering that you can fly, huh?” He was surprised that he hadn’t been caught making the multiple trips up and down from the roof to set everything up for her, but it was surprising what people didn’t notice - too wrapped up in their own lives. “Let’s go” he took her hand in his, kissing the back of it before he led her outside. 

“Take it from me, nothing good can come out of being friends with an ex like that.” Wylder said, thinking momentarily of Helena. The two of them were friends at an arms distance. Mostly because Helena could play Wylder like a fiddle. But that was over now. He was with Marcella now and unlike with Helena, it was simple.  Everything wasn’t a game. “I usually am.” Wylder told him with a nod. “Plus, Daphne could use a good guy like you. Especially after what Bruce put her through. If you ask me, he and you ex deserve each other.” Wylder’s tone was filled with acid.

“From you?” Rocket rose a brow, looking over at his friend. “Oh, wait...didn’t you date that girl with the plant powers? She looks like she’d try and turn you into fertiliser if things went south to be honest..” he chuckled, giving a weak shrug. It wasn’t like they had ever really discussed exes, especially since Wylder had been into Marcella for as long as Rocky could recall. “I’m not so sure that I would describe myself as a good guy, but, uh, thanks man” he shrugged modestly, offering up a grin. “Yeah...Maybe”

Valentina bit her lip as he looked down at her, giving him her best doe eyes. “Maybe….but you kissed back.” she told him, hands snaking back up to lock around his neck. She kissed his jawline, soft pecks in-between her words. “Do you want me to stop?” she asked him.  Feeling like this with Rocky was the only time she could. When it was with Bruce it was too…unknown. Dangerous. Rocky was safe. Familiar. She knew he’d never hurt her. Never betray her. Which is what made it so much worse. She was using him to deal with her own emotional baggage. Valentina knew it wasn’t fair. But she didn’t care. She needed this. Needed him. Needed him to make her feel like it was okay to feel.  “Because I don’t think you want me to….this class is empty for the next hour. I don’t need to remind you what I can do with that kind of time do I?” she smirked, pulling back to look up at him.  

“Habit” Rocket responded without much thought, a half shrug following. Ironically enough, it kept things uncomplicated the more that Rocky oversimplified his feelings - even to himself. He couldn’t afford to acknowledge the way that Valentina made him feel for too long, not when he was trying to move on. “No” he sighed deeply, eyes almost closing before he pulled himself back to the surface. “But that doesn’t make it a good idea...I think we both know that” Rocky’s brows lowered into a frown as his eyes met hers again. It was tempting. So tempting that it took considerable effort for him to place his hands on her waist, spinning them so that he was no longer trapped against the wall, taking a step back. “Lover boy not entertaining enough?” he rose a brow, unable to help the way that he smirked. 

from this post:  @rockxtquill​​

it was one of the nights rocky said he’ll take her out to meet some new people but she never knew how her impression on people was. “ i don’t know rocky if i should do this.” she said as she bit her lip. she let out a laugh and nodded. “you probably right. let’s go.” she said. 

“Hey - Okay, how about this...We go and if you’re not having a great time after thirty minutes then we leave, no questions asked” he suggested. “Promise” Rocky didn’t want to push her too hard, but he also knew that Alex wasn’t going to make herself any new friends if she hid away in her dorm room all night long. “Being right is kind of a habit of mine” he teased. “You got this, let’s go” he nodded before she could change her mind, grabbing his keys so they could head out.