riverview | video ==> text

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video ==> text | @gamora

[ 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?

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[ 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.

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.

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? ]

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.

[ And, of course, Gamora knows that. She knows that it's just as likely that they could be the only ones here for the entirety of their stay – even if Mantis left once before, only to return. ]

... Something smaller would be more reasonable.

[ Affordable, for their circumstance now.

But it's already been a year, and she and Peter haven't shown any signs of getting to go home.

(Maybe for the better, considering what's waiting for them on the other side.)

So why not be at least a little optimistic? If their future is so bleak on the other side of the portal, why not hope for whatever happiness they can find for now in the Quarantine, with their dysfunctional little family intact?

If this is the last place she and Peter will have the chance for a peaceful life, she wants to make the most of it. ]

We could just find something comfortable for us, until the portal can send us back.

[ Peter huffs out a quiet little laugh.

Only a little sarcastically, ]

Yeah. Sure. We can get a cozy little house with a white picket fence and a little yard for Groot to run around in.

[ Gamora has a lot more context for white picket fences now than she did almost a year ago, and the quirk of her lips is just barely there. ]

Why not?

[ But that isn't sarcastic.

Why can't they find that here? It's temporary, isn't it? This isn't their home, and that sort of domesticity is never something she would have expected for herself, but... that's what the Quarantine offers. Traveling the galaxy, with a bit of good and a bit of bad?

Those days are nowhere to be found here. ]

[ The sincerity of it stops him up short for a second, and he turns to look at her a little more closely. ]

... Yeah?

[ A weird mix of amused and— something. Curious? Pleased? Even Peter isn't entirely sure what. ]

If you're serious about this, we can— I dunno. Do some house hunting, I guess.

Can't say I know the first thing about it, though.

Neither do I.

[ Her last actual house was on her home planet.

They both know what happened to it. ]

I'm sure others here have experience we can use.

[ Which is actually a convenience of the Quarantine.

But: ]

Does the fence have to be white?

[ That startles a quick laugh out of him. ]

No. Not really? It's just, you know. Traditional. On Earth, anyway. Who the hell knows how it works around Riverview.

We can see what they have to offer.

[ And she seems genuinely pleased with the idea.

She likes that they can share something like this. ]

How soon do you want to look?

Whenever you want. We've got plenty of—

[ From the corner of his eye, he sees a vine snaking over the edge of the coffee table, toward his Zune, and Peter jerks upright. ]

Hey!

[ The vine stops, accompanied by a cracking sound, as Groot snaps them off. The kid scrambles to turn back around as Peter looks at him, pretending (badly) to have had nothing to do with what just happened.

Peter sighs. ]

Just for that, we're adding on five more minutes.

[ And Groot splutters in protest: ]

I am Groot!

[ But I didn't do anything! ]

You want me to add five more?

[ And Groot flops back onto the chair dramatically. ]

[ Just as Peter's attention shifts, so does Gamora's. She sits up quickly to catch sight of the sneaky vine, but she just sighs, taking the moment to look through her communicator as responses start coming in.

She scrolls through them as Groot huffs and whines, but she waits until the pouty sapling has plopped back into his chair. ]

Some people are suggesting distracting him when he has such a violent response.

[ Peter lets out another sigh. ]

Distract him how? Should I get out a disco ball or something?

If you think that would work.

[ She shrugs, and continues looking through the messages. ]

Or we can let him scream and ignore him until he realizes his fits will get him nothing.

Not sure how much of a fan our neighbors will be for that one.

[ Not that they've gotten many complaints so far. Not a single person has banged on a wall, or stomped on their ceiling from an upper floor, or used a broom to bang against their floor from the room below, but—

You never know, right? ]

I guess we try distraction, then? Just get his attention with something interesting, or...?

[ A nod. ]

Something he might like instead. Another recommendation is to make him laugh, to make him forget why he was upset.

[ ... Gamora, being Gamora, leans slightly more to not entertaining his tantrums. But she also understands that they live surrounded by others, and they aren't the only ones who would be affected. ]

Sooo. That's more my job than yours, is what I'm hearing.

Yes.

[ Said so decisively, too. ]

I can hold up against his screaming until he stops, or you can try to bribe him to stop.

[ With jokes or toys or sweets – whatever he thinks will work. ]

[ Peter lets out a sharp breath. ]

Really? I thought you told me not to bribe him?

[ Because Peter's go-to response had absolutely been chucking a piece of chocolate at the kid when he was getting weird, but they put an end to that pretty quickly. ]

Bribe him with jokes. We don't want him to start thinking that screaming will get him sweets or a toy.

[ That's the bigger concern: she's pretty sure Groot would just start wailing to get what he wants, nonstop, if he learned it meant he'd get candy. ]

[ Peter's quiet for a second. Then, ]

That's not a bribe. My jokes are a gift.

[ in no universe is this true. ]

[ Somehow, she sounds both exasperated and patient: ]

No, Peter.

[ Just n o.

BUT PRESSING ON. ]

If your jokes make him stop, then that's fine. I'm not sure how to distract him without truly bribing him otherwise. I do not want him to think that these fits will manipulate us.

I am Groot.

[ And speak of the devil, the kid still is sprawled out on the seat, head lolled to one side as he glares at the two of them. Peter takes a deep, rallying breath. ]

I know you're bored, Groot. That's the point. You're supposed to think about what you did wrong.

I am Groot!

You absolutely did do something wrong, so just think harder.

[ And Groot groans, spends a couple of seconds pounding his fists and heels against the seat, before flopping over onto his side in a huff.

Peter grumbles beneath his breath, ]

I'm really not liking his attitude lately.

I wonder where he learned it from.

[ All the complaining and sulking and grumbliness...

It must have just come out of nowhere, obviously. ]

I can only assume it will improve with time. He's still young.

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