video ==> text | @gamora

[godslay]

[ Hey, you know who hasn't graced the network in a while?

This tiny monster.

You know who understands how the network works and thinks it's neat?

That same tiny monster.

When the camera clicks on, Groot is standing way too close to the screen, and all that can be seen are his gigantic, black eyes. There's a muffled, "I am Groot?" and then he's setting the communicator down and taking a few steps back until he's mostly visible from the waist up. He waves cheerfully at the camera, and then reaches offscreen to produce...

This bad boy.

He waves it around effortlessly; even if it's already extended, it's clearly near weightless. An excellent blade, all around.

Not excellent for children, however.

Offscreen, Gamora's voice sounds distant:

"Peter, have you seen my—"

Her feet appear in the camera's view, followed by a sharp, reprimanding, ]

Groot! Give that back! You're going to hurt yourself!

[ And she's stomping over to snatch away her sword.

Groot whines when Gamora takes Godslayer, and after a brief pause, the sapling is bursting into immediate, earsplitting bawling.

Sorry to anyone next door or on the adjacent floors. ]

Ugh.

[ She scoops up her communicator, too. It takes a second for her to notice that Groot turned it on, but then she clicks off the feed. ]



[ Following after that disaster: ]

Who has experience dealing with tantrums?

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

And guns.

[ Offered up with a little exasperation. Peter, apparently, really doesn't like this idea.

Like, he's not the "sleep with a weapon under his pillow" kind of guy, but he still likes knowing his guns are only a few seconds away from being in his hands in an emergency. Maybe a few months ago it would've been less of a concern, but after getting jumped in the street and shoved in an ancient underground chamber and beaten to goddamn hell?

Yeah. He's a little paranoid. ]

Maybe we can get biometric locks or some—

[ And called out from Time Out Corner, ] I am Groot?

No, you're not done yet.

[godslay]

That would work for your blasters. Godslayer is always sharp.

[ She also doesn't sound pleased with this situation. Groot isn't an ordinary toddler, but... in so many ways, he's absolutely a child, and they need to be more careful with him than they were with older Groot. ]

There should be people we can ask for suggestions on security measures. Parents of children with powers must deal with something similar, right?

[nostalgiabomb]

I guess?

[ He scrubs at his eye with the heel of his palm for a second.

Parenting. What the fuck even is it? ]

I guess you can ask the network or something? [ Because Peter's comm is all the way over there. ]

But I can't imagine we're gonna get anything better than, like, "Set firmer boundaries," or the kinda shit you'd get in What to Expect When You're Expecting, or whatever.

[godslay]

[ She looks down at the comm in her hand with a sigh. She might as well. ]

But he will grow out of it eventually, won't he?

[ All children do.

Mostly. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter is silent for a second.

Then, with all too obvious uncertainty, ]

Y...es?

[ Out of all of them, Rocket was the only one with a pretty solid handle on how Groot would probably progress.

Not for the first time, he wishes the guy was here. ]

[godslay]

[ ... That's the least reassuring answer ever.

What if he's like this for years? Decades? What if they grow at different developmental rates?

A little noise of frustration rumbles in Gamora's throat (though it's clearly not directed at Peter) as she sinks down against the cushions. She fires off a quick text to the network (rather than voice or video), and then sets her comm on the couch. ]

He's learning, like most children. But our circumstances are so different that it's impossible to predict how he's going to progress.

[ From the corner: ] I am Groot!

Yes, we're talking about you.

I am Groot?

No. Stay there.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He pulls himself up off the ground to settle on the couch beside her, an arm stretched over the back of it. ]

I mean, he'll probably grow out of it? He basically jumped from being a little baby to a toddler in, like, just a couple months. So if we go by that scale, we're... probably good?

[godslay]

[ Almost out of habit, Gamora shifts to lean against Peter's side. ]

He has been a toddler for a long time, comparatively. Have you noticed him growing yet?

[ Because Gamora doesn't think she has, not at the rate that he went from potted twig to walking, talking sapling. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He opens his mouth to respond.

Then closes it, as he thinks it over more. Then, ]

... He might have grown a centimeter or two?

[godslay]

[ She gives him the same flat look she usually does when he says something unhelpful. ]

Maybe we should find some way of keeping track of any changes.

[ If Gamora was Terran, she might think to suggest tic marks on a doorframe. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter, who is Terran, huffs out a laugh and suggests, ]

What, like marks on a doorframe?

[godslay]

[ As with most things that are outside of Gamora's cultural existence, this earns a wrinkle of her nose in confusion. ]

Why would you mark a doorframe?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Yeah, he was expecting the question, which means his answer is offered up easily: ]

I dunno. Sentimental reasons?

Basically a kid would stand against a door frame, probably like every couple of months? And their parent would, like, either mark their height in pen or by carving a little notch in the frame.

[godslay]

[ She seems to be considering this option, her head cocked. ]

Maybe that would be better when we aren't in the community housing.

[ Like... when they can have a real place of their own (for whatever remaining time they have in the Quarantine). ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He lets out a quiet hum of agreement. Then, ]

Maybe we should look into a new place for ourselves, huh? Now that Mantis is back.

[godslay]

[ She nods in easy agreement. ]

Groot could use more room, too.

[ He could be acting out more out of boredom, really. ]

We should look for somewhere with extra bedrooms, just... in case.

[ In case Rocket or Drax or... maybe even Nebula show up in the Quarantine. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He pauses for a second, then, ]

Yeah. That's not a bad idea.

[ Like, okay, it's weird, because while they've been stuck here for a year (a fucking year), it hasn't been wholly terrible, a few pretty big hiccups aside. And while he wouldn't want any of their teammates to end up stranded here, like they have, he also wouldn't exactly mind it? ]

So, what, we're looking at... four bedrooms? Five?

[godslay]

[ She lifts a hand, ticking them off on her fingers. ]

Mantis, Drax, Rocket. One for you and me. Groot might need one, if he grows significantly, and that would give us more privacy.

[ She pauses, then, ]

It should be six.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He starts to nod in agreement, except he does the mental tally, and— ]

Wait, how are you getting six?

[ He lifts a hand and counts them off on his fingers. ]

You and me. Mantis. Groot. Then Drax and Rocket, if we wanna gamble on them showing up, one of these days.

Shouldn't that be five?

[godslay]

[ She lifts up one more finger next to Peter's to make six. ]

Nebula.

[ But she says it quietly, because it's hard to admit that she's still hopeful something can be done for her sister. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter falls quiet for a second, almost a little uncertain.

He gets that Nebula probably isn't actively trying to kill them anymore, but there's a difference between knowing that and understanding that.

Plus? He's still at least pretty sure that even if she doesn't intend to kill them, that wouldn't stop her from inflicting grievous bodily harm. And he doubts he and Nebula will ever see eye to eye on anything, so...

But he keeps the uncertainty from his voice, even if the pause is probably telling enough. ]

Okay. Six, then.

You think she'd wanna stay with us, though?

[godslay]

[ Gamora takes immediate notice of the hesitation, but she doesn't begrudge him the uncertainty. Nebula is still a wild card, in a number of ways, and even if Gamora isn't entirely sure where they stand or what her sister would do...

She wants the option to be there. ]

I don't know.

[ And that's honest. ]

But I want to leave the door open to her, as long as it isn't a risk to us.

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah. I'm cool with that.

[ Sort of. In that way where it's like, "I mean, I'm not totally on board? But this is important to you, so it's important to me."

It helps, too, that this is all theoretical. They have no idea of knowing if any of the others might show up, after all. ]

... It's gonna take a lot of dough to get a place with six bedrooms.

[godslay]

We should start looking now, so we have an idea of how much it will cost.

[ She does, unfortunately, think Peter's right about how expensive it will be. ]

Maybe we can find something connected, instead of all one house.

[ Like a duplex? ]

[nostalgiabomb]

Maybe.

[ He shifts a little, kicking up a foot on the edge of the coffee table. ]

On the other hand? [ And he says it slowly, hesitantly. Peter's not in the habit of being the realistic one, honestly, but here it is: ] We have no way of knowing if the guys might ever show up.