video; @star.lord

[nostalgiabomb]

[ INT. Shared Housing, Floor 13, Room 4 – Very Late Night.

We open on a shot of the living space in one of the many shared housing units. It's dark in the messy room, with a couple of red jackets tossed onto the backs of chairs. Nearby, soft snores are audible.

In frame is a small, wooden creature, his giant eyes squinting with concentration as he stares at the screen. An old, beat-up mp3 player and a Sony Walkman sit beside him on the coffee table. The little creature mumbles a tiny, irritated— ]

I am Groot?

[ —in the same tone of voice someone else might use to ask, “How the hell do you work this thing?” He pokes at the screen fruitlessly for a while, but soon enough, his eyes light up as he shoves his hand forward one last time.

Suddenly, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by the illustrious AC/DC shrieks over stereo speakers.

DONE. DIRT. CHEAP.

Sorry about your beauty sleep, Floor 13. And probably Floors 12 and 14.

The sapling yelps, scrambling and panicking to figure out how to stop this crazy thing, just as a sleep-tousled Star-Lord stumbles into frame, flicking on a light. Barely audible over the music, ]

Groot, what are you—?

[ Busted.

Peter picks up the device, sees that it’s recording, and he grimaces. ]

Oh, son of a—

[ Which is when the feed and the music both cut out. ]

Comments

[chumpelstiltskin]

I assume we have begun to micro-categorise it because rock in the 80's and rock now attracts different audiences.

But I say assume because I left Earth 10 years ago and for all I know the music I liked could be Dad Rap now.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Oh, okay, that catches his interest. ]

You left Earth?

[ and he casts the words a little cautiously, like he's not sure what sort of answer he's expecting. ]

[godslay]

[ She waves Peter off dismissively. ]

I just need water.

[ But her voice sounds hoarser, and she coughs once, short but rattling. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Listen.

Peter isn't so completely clueless about recent goings-on that he doesn't immediately have his suspicions, and if he were honest with himself, he's been watching both Gamora and Groot like hawks.

That didn't sound like a "I just woke up and need a drink of water" cough.

But maybe Peter's being paranoid. Maybe he's blowing things out of proportion. (Maybe he feels like he's eight years old again, and Mom and Gramps are sitting him down at the kitchen table, and Mom's eyes are too wet and she's gripping Gramps' hand like a lifeline—) ]

Gamora.

[ His voice is sharpened by worry as he moves toward her. ]

You're sure you're okay?

video; @galadriel

[inafadingcrown]

[Galadriel wasn't asleep. It's an elf quirk- they don't actually need to sleep. Unfortunately, excellent hearing is another elf quirk, so she is still more than a little irritated. She's Peter's neighbor, actually, so she would have been quite cross indeed, if she weren't completely distracted by something- or, rather, someone- in the video.]

Your small friend- is he, by chance, an entling?

video; @star.lord

[nostalgiabomb]

[ SORRY NEIGHBOR...

Peter turns the feed on again to respond, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. At his elbow, Groot is currently sulking on the table, arms crossed and head bowed, having been lectured about the finer points of "getting an adult if you really need help with something" and also "getting a good night's rest" and also "don't mess with junk you don't know how to use at butts o'clock." ]

—A what-ling?

[inafadingcrown]

An entling.

[Her eyes flick to Groot for a moment, studying him, before she continues.]

He very much resembles what is known in the common tongue as an ent. They grow much larger than he, and are much slower in their movements, but they have always spoken of their young ones as 'hasty.' The Entwives were lost long ago, and so there have been no entlings for many thousands of years. Even I have not seen one. I have no notion of how they truly appear, but if I were to imagine- [She gestures at Groot. He's pretty close.]

video ( @the.tetherer )

[tetherer]

[The Tetherer happens to be on the 12th floor, which heard enough echoes of this foreign music to stir them from their light slumber, groggily trying to palm at their phone.

Only this isn't their alarm, and it's coming from the floor above. Lovely. The Tetherer is not used to noisy neighbors. They consider going upstairs and having a stern word as to the hour of the interruption, but it stops quickly enough. A mistake, maybe.

Since they're awake, they glance at their phone and see there's a video explanation to go along with the disturbance. Their eyes are hooded with sleepiness as they flip on the video, interested enough -- and awake enough -- to consider replying.]

Your ward seems like quite a handful. I take it this isn't a regular occurrence?

[At least they hope it's not.]

[godslay]

[ Gamora is about to move past him to the kitchen to get a glass of water, but she stops when Peter comes over, meeting his gaze and that sharp concern. ]

I'm fine, Peter.

[ But she doesn't shove past him in the same gruff way she might have in the past; she rests an arm on his elbow for a moment, then tries to sidestep him to get that water. ]

Nothing's wrong.

[ Except she's coughing again, this time a short fit as she presses a hand to her chest to try and quell it. ]

video; @star.lord

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Hey there, neighbor. Peter, for his part, is looking equally sleepy, hair still mussed from his rude awakening. (There may also be a faint crease in his cheek from his pillow.) Beside him, on the coffee table, Groot is silently fuming about the unfairness of it all. ]

No, it's not. Usually, someone is smart enough to ask for help.

[ Peter doesn't see it, but Groot silently and derisively mouths along with Peter's words, mimicking him. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ There's a small, endlessly hopeful part of him that wants desperately to believe her. Gamora knows her own limits better than Peter does, and if she says she's fine, then she probably means it.

... Right?

Except when she moves past him, that coughing starts again, and that's— Gamora doesn't do that. Like, okay, sure, she coughs, but not like that. And it's Peter's turn to rest a hand on her elbow. ]

That doesn't sound like nothing.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Groot, for his part, seems to have taken a slight interest, and while he's still trying to sulk, he's casting the device a sidelong glance.

Peter, though, frowns down at him, thoughtful. ]

We, uh. We were told he was a Flora colossus. I think his home world was a place called Planet X?

[ —which, all things considered, wasn't the most imaginative name, but still. ]

Maybe they're distant relatives or something?

[godslay]

[ She shakes her head again, still insistent, but without yanking away from him. ]

My mods will handle whatever it is – which means I'm fine.

[ She doesn't get sick – and even when she's infected with something, it's usually filtered out of her system before it even gets close to affecting her. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He searches her face for a second or two, uncertainty written in the narrowing of his eyes, the crease in his brow, but—

Slowly, reluctantly, his grip loosens on her elbow. He doesn't let go entirely – not yet – but he's relenting, at least a little. ]

You're... absolutely sure?

[ Because whatever sickness is going around, from what he's heard, is super aggressive. Like, Andromeda Strain aggressive, and the news had freaked him out a little, honestly. ]

[tetherer]

[They snicker tiredly at Groot's immature antics, but don't tell on him. It'll be our secret, Groot. If the Tetherer can keep a straight face, at any rate.]

Does "Groot" not need to sleep? I've never seen a person quite like him.

[godslay]

[ She tosses him a sidelong glance. ]

What Thanos did to me is good for something, Peter.

[ This is cast more quietly, but intended to be reassuring. ]

If it's something, it will filter itself out soon.

[bunnyhopped]

Okay, so not dad. Babysitter then? Or just a leveled up gardener?

[ Since, like, tree and all. ]

text, un: n. romanov

[latrodectus]

[ Natasha is too many floors removed to hear the music in person, as it were, but it's loud and unexpected even glancing through the network. ]

I didn't realize we were allowed to keep pets.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Another second wasted, because that doubt is screeching in his head. He runs his tongue over his teeth, but at length, he offers a slow nod, letting go of her arm. ]

... Okay.

[ He hesitates a breath longer before letting his arm drop uselessly to his side. ]

Just— there's that thing going around, you know? It's been taking a lot of folks down, is all.

[nostalgiabomb]

... Guardian. Let's just go with guardian.

[ That's the most on-brand, after all. ]

He's kind of a teammate. From back home, I mean.

voice; @star.lord

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter is that particular brand of asshole who answers text message with phone calls, so, enjoy his groggy, sleep-heavy voice. ]

He's not a pet.

[ in that tone of voice that suggests she's said something horribly offensive. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

He should be sleeping. [ And Peter says it pointedly, looking at Groot askance just as the kid starts mimicking him again. ]

I saw that.

[ And Groot freezes before hunching up, pretending like he wasn't just making fun of Peter.

Peter sighs, running a hand down his face, then, ]

He keeps weird hours, normally, he'd be asleep around this time. Like most folks ought to be.

[tetherer]

[The Tetherer definitely has to cover their mouth to keep from laughing too loud and waking up anyone who was spared from the AC/DC sleepocalypse.]

Maybe he needs a schedule. Something to keep him sleeping at a normal time?

[nostalgiabomb]

That assumes he'd bother sticking to it.

[ In that exasperated sort of way that says, "the child is a menace and cannot be stopped."

But anyway. That's an issue (and a conversation that will likely start with, "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed...") to tackle in the morning. For now— ]

I'm sincerely hoping you keep weird hours, too, and not that all the noise woke you up.

[tetherer]

[They have the gall to look a bit bashful when he says that, as if the Tetherer is the one in the wrong here.]

Well, it was... I've never heard that song before.

[They are a Bad Liar. They sigh, realizing that the subject change won't help.]

Don't worry, I'm not mad at you or Groot. It was an honest mistake.