〘 :*¨༺ 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 ༻¨*: 〙

"Are you ever afraid that...-that you'll forget what she looks like, or sounds like?

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

" the fire inside these kindled hands
this burning light it's all i am "

BLAKE STARED BLANKLY at the ceiling of the hospital-like room in the Avengers facility. An IV had been placed into his arm, causing Blake to have to pull a pole on wheels with a bag of liquid hanging from it. He would often forget about it, making Rocket have to push it after him. A full bowl of soup was sat on the table beside his bed, the steam long gone and untouched in Blake's daze.

Rocket sat in the chair next to the bed, fiddling with a blue and purple bracelet in his lap.

"We're going after Thanos." Rocket began, breaking the silence. "We're going to get the stones to bring everyone back."

Blake didn't respond, only blinked at the ceiling.

When Rocket didn't receive a reply, he sighed. "I'm not allowing you to come with us. You're in no condition."

He's right Blake.

Ellie's distorted voice echoed in his mind.

Blake blinked again, tears escaping his eyes, cascading down the sides of his face.

Rocket looked down at his lap for a moment before getting up and heading for the door.

"Rocket," Blake's voice croaked.

The raccoon paused, his hand hovering over the door nob.

"Are you ever afraid that..." Blake swallowed thickly, fighting a cough or sob, he couldn't tell which. "-that you'll forget what she looks like, or sounds like? Or...or what she smells like?"

Rocket's gaze was frozen on the floor, fighting his need to break down. He was holding out so much hope for this mission to go right, for him to get Ellie, Groot, and everyone else back. He needed this mission to go right.

"Every day," Rocket replied over his shoulder. He left the room, closing the heavy door with a loud click. He paused for a moment outside the door, his eyes stinging and vision blurring. He quickly covered his eyes, giving them a hard rub before taking a deep breath and continuing down the hall.

Rocket would later break down from the failure of the mission, his loss of hope hanging by a thread. Thanos had destroyed the stones and Thor had slashed his head off before they could get more answers.

Rocket was afraid he would forget, he tried everything to keep his memory of Ellie intact. He stashed all of her bracelets in his pockets, around his wrists, anything. He would watch video recordings on his holograms. Look a pictures before he went to bed every night. When the memories became unbearable, he would go a week or two without touching anything, and soon, he could function a bit normally, but never back to what he used to be.