4 Never Have I Ever

Plot: The Guardians spend some quality time together on the ship.

Tone: Slice of life, humourous

"Never have I ever stolen something." Mantis smiled as she asked, holding up ten fingers.

"Oh come on," Quill grunted, putting a finger down.

"Now see, that's just not fair," Rocket added, also putting a finger. "We're a group of intergalactic space pirates. We've all stolen something." Loki nodded, putting a finger down. Drax and Groot did the same, leaving only Mantis and Nebula with all ten fingers still up.

"Oh come on, surely you've stolen something too," Loki insisted, gesturing to Nebula.

"Dammit, Loki," she muttered, rolling her eyes and putting her finger down. Mantis gestured to Nebula that it was her turn and glaring right at Loki she replied,

"Never have I ever fallen in love." Loki's eyes widened.

"This is stupid," Quill grunted, putting another finger down.

"This was your idea, Quill," Drax replied, also putting a finger down.

"Damn you Nebula," Loki sighed, allowing a finger to drop. He gazed at the others. Rocket, Groot, Nebula, and Mantis had nine fingers up while he, Quill, and Drax all had only eight fingers each.

"Wait, Mantis?" Quill raised an eyebrow. "Who did you fall in love with?" Mantis bit her lip, keeping her eyes fixed on the table.

"I knew it!" Drax exclaimed, pointing at her. "You did like me."

"No, no." Mantis gestured with her hands to settle down. "It's someone else, don't worry about it."

"Is it still going on?" Nebula asked, smirking slightly.

"She hasn't known very many people so it's probably someone sitting here right now," Rocket added, flicking his paw.

"I am Groot," the tree suggested with a smirk. Quill, Nebula, and Drax all cringed while Mantis looked as if she was about to throw up. Loki was left wondering what Groot said.

"Now, Groot, don't be rude," Rocket insisted, gesturing to him. "That's just disgusting."

"Can we move on, please?" Mantis begged, covering her blushing face with her hands.

"Yes, I agree," Loki added, gesturing to Quill, who was next.

"Never have I ever…" Quill thought for a moment before smiling devilishly. "Gotten drunk."

Loki let out a sigh, dropping yet another finger. "What's with everyone being against me?"

"Actually, that was directed at Rocket," Quill replied, pointing at him.

"I'll get you for this, Quill," he mumbled, letting one finger fall before folding his arms.

"Wait, when did you get drunk?" Quill asked, turning to Loki and raising an eyebrow. Loki's cheeks reddened.

"It was… when I lived with Tony," he explained, looking away and biting his lip. "He offered me alcohol and…" Loki let out a sigh. He gazed up at the others, taking a deep breath. "Let's carry on, shall we?"

Drax stood up, clearing his throat. "Never have I ever cried watching Star Wars." Loki felt as if he had been personally attacked… again. He, Mantis, and Quill all gazed down in shame as they lowered their fingers.

"He came back to the light," Quill murmured, sniffing a bit.

"He was killed by his own son," Loki sighed, pushing his hair aside.

"He killed all the children…" Mantis sobbed, covering her face. "And his wife!" Loki patted her shoulder.

"Alright, Quill," Rocket spat, stepping on the table and pointing at his friend. "Never have I ever killed my father."

"Oh come on! That's unfair!" Loki silently put one of his fingers down as Quill practically yowled at Rocket. Nebula glanced at him.

"Guys." She pointed at Loki. Quill and Rocket quieted down to gaze at Loki, their eyes widening.

"Did you... put a finger down?" Quill asked, pointing at him.

Loki nodded. "So… What's the story here?" he asked, gesturing to Quill.

"Oh, uh." Quill shifted in his spot. "My father was an evil all-powerful planet God that tried to destroy the world." Loki's eyes widened. "He also kinda…" Quill looked away. "Killed my mother. So we killed him."

Loki shrugged. "That's a much better reason than a convoluted scheme to become king of Asgard and impress my father."

"You killed your father… to impress your father?" Rocket asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Oh, no, no. I killed my… biological father during a plan to impress my adopted father, the king of Asgard."

"You were adopted?" Nebula asked, tilting her head to the side.

"More like abducted," Loki spat, crossing his arms.

"Oh, same." Loki's eyes widened at Quill. "My father sent…" Quill looked away, his eyes watering. "Y-Yondu to pick me up from Earth after my mother died but he decided to keep me instead. He raised me. What about you?"

"Um…" Loki bit his lip. "I believe I explained this before, to Valkyrie. You were all there? Odin, my 'father,' found me as an infant and took me in, holding that fact over my head like it was some noble thing that he didn't leave an infant to die!" Loki paused, realizing his fists were clenched and his heart was pounding. The others stared at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry," Loki sighed, looking away. "I'm still bitter about that. I mean sure, he accepted me as his son on his deathbed but… he still lied to me my whole life about what I really was and… he seemed to thrive on making me feel inferior."

"Dude, you have every right to still be upset with him," Quill replied, gesturing to him. "He clearly hurt you. You don't owe him anything, especially now that he's dead."

"I suppose," Loki sighed, resting his head on the table. "I just wish I hadn't wasted so much of my life trying to get him to love me. I acted like I wanted the throne but really, I just wanted to please him."

"Is this why you don't talk about your father like you talk about the rest of your family?" Mantis asked, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Yes," Loki replied with a nod.

���Well, this got pretty serious," Rocket deadpanned, crossing his arms.

"Well, you did ask who in the ship killed their father," Quill snapped, pointing at nothing in particular. "I don't know what you expected."

"I expected that only you would put a finger down," Rocket argued, his eyes narrowed. "I didn't know Loki had that kind of history."

"I have a lot of history," Loki replied, crossing his arms. "Some of which I'd prefer not to share."

"Fair enough," Quill replied with a shrug. He gestured to Groot. "Your turn."

"I am Groot."

"Translation?" Loki asked, turning to Quill.

"A crush on someone on the crew," Quill sighed, putting down a finger.

"Ha!" Loki exclaimed, pointing at Groot. "Mine wasn't a Guardian so it doesn't count!" Loki flaunted the five fingers he still had up. The only other person to put down a finger was Mantis, which raised some 'oohs' from the Guardians.

"So it is someone here." Nebula scooted closer to Mantis. "Hello, pretty… person. You are… pretty." Mantis tilted her head to the side. "I am trying to flirt," Nebula replied, looking away.

"Your flirting is just as robotic as the rest of you." Loki wheezed with laughter at her comment. Mantis looked away. "The crush was a long time ago," she sighed, putting her hands over her face. "I have gotten over it, it wasn't a big deal."

"If you're sure," Loki replied with a shrug. He cleared his throat, thinking of a question. "Never have I ever... eaten an animal." Quill, Nebula, Drax, and Rocket groaned, putting down fingers.

"You are a vegetarian?" Mantis asked, turning to Loki.

Loki nodded. "I never wanted to eat meat as a child so I still don't. It just never looked appetizing, you know?"

"I know what you mean," Mantis replied, smiling.

"So let me get this straight." Loki glanced at Rocket. "You're willing to kill other people but not eat animals?"

"Well, there is a difference between those things, you see," Loki explained, suddenly smirking. "I mean, you don't see me eating Thanos or the Chitauri." Rocket's eyes widened. Mantis was giggling beside Loki. "I just find it strange to eat something that was once living."

"Well, to each their own," Quill replied, shrugging and gesturing to Mantis.

"Never have I ever killed someone!" Mantis exclaimed, glaring hard at the others. Literally everyone groaned, putting down a finger. Mantis was the only one who kept all her fingers up.

"That's a lie," Loki replied, pointing at her. "I saw you induce some of the Chitauri into sleep before stabbing them repeatedly." Mantis's eyes widened. "That seems like murder to me."

"What?" Mantis gasped, her eyes wide. "No! That's awful!"

"It was impressive, actually," Loki admitted, his lip twitching up a bit. Mantis looked away.

"Okay, you caught me." Mantis let one finger fall.

"You guys realize I literally have two fingers up right now right?" Quill asked, swinging his hand around.

"I suppose you've just done everything," Loki teased, smirking and pointing at him.

"Never have I ever piloted the ship," Nebula added, smirking as Quill lowered yet another finger. Rocket let out a snarl, doing the same.

"Dammit Nebula." Quill slammed a hand on the table. "You know what? I'm gonna do one you definitely have: Never have I ever been a girl."

"That's the best you've got?" Nebula asked, lowering one finger. "That was incredibly uninspired." Mantis sighed, putting down a finger as well.

"Wait, why did you put a finger down Loki?" Rocket asked, pointing at him. The others gazed at Loki, raising their eyebrows. Loki snorted with laughter.

"I'm a shapeshifter, it comes with some perks," Loki informed, flipping his hair around a bit.

"I'm starting to think this game has just turned into figuring out all the weird things about you," Quill replied, pointing at Loki.

"I suppose," Loki replied with a shrug. "Though that was the point wasn't it? And I don't feel that I've learned very much about any of you."

"We've done weird things too," Drax replied, shooting a glance at Rocket. "Never have I ever stolen batteries from the Sovereign." Rocket glared at Drax, growling as he put down a finger. Nebula lowered one as well.

"Oh my god I almost forgot about that!" Quill gasped, slamming his hands into the table. "That nearly got us killed!"

"Hey, they deserved it," Rocket argued, pointing at Quill. "Those guys were a bunch of stuck up snobs." Loki shrugged, unable to disagree with that logic. Rocket turned to Drax, folding his arms. "Never have I ever played a practical joke on Mantis." Drax grunted, lowering a finger.

"Oh yeah!" Mantis laughed, pointing at Drax. "That was funny! I learned not to do that again!"

"Do what? What happened?" Loki asked, tilting his head to the side.

"He told me I could pet Rocket." Mantis was laughing as she explained. "And he almost bit me!"

"Yeah!" Drax laughed, pointing at her. "You thought he was a puppy!" Drax and Mantis laughed together. Loki cracked a smile.

"I am Groot." Groot was smirking. Everyone apart from Mantis sighed, putting down one finger each.

"Welp, I'm out," Quill sighed, scooting his chair back.

"What was the question?" Loki asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Dude, you really need to learn Groot," Quill replied, scooting closer to Loki. "He said 'Never have I ever gone to jail.'"

"Oh!" Loki immediately put another finger down, leaving only two more.

"That's actually how we met," Quill explained, gesturing his hands as he spoke. "Me, Drax, Rocket, Groot, and…" He looked away. "Gamora…" Loki felt a pang of sympathy for his friend. "We all got thrown in jail and had to team up in order to escape. Nebula and Mantis joined us later."

"Well then, never have I ever broken out of jail," Loki replied, smirking. Once again, everyone grunted and lowered their fingers.

"You didn't escape?" Drax asked, raising an eyebrow at Loki.

"Nope, I was intentionally let out…" Loki looked away. "By my brother… There was a lot going on with the dark elves and the convergence and he needed my help."

"I am Groot," Groot replied in a cocky voice.

"Yeah, we see that," Rocket grunted, glaring at the teenage tree. "You're probably gonna win because you're younger and haven't done as much as we have." Loki glanced at Groot, surprised to see that he still had eight 'fingers' up.

"Wait, wasn't he with you in jail?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The original Groot was. He… sacrificed himself to save us." Rocket looked away, his eyes full of sadness. "Teen Groot here is a cutting we took of the original Groot that grew into this."

"Oh…" Loki looked away. "I see…"

"Never have I ever fallen asleep watching Star Wars," Mantis replied, smiling.

Drax yawned, putting a finger down. "Do you blame me?" he asked. "They were so boring." Groot put down a finger as well.

"Literally only you think that," Quill replied, gesturing to Nebula.

"Hm…" She gazed at Groot, her eyes narrowed. "Never have I ever played a video game."

Groot's jaw dropped. "I am Groot," he mumbled, putting a finger down.

"Alright, new rule." Rocket stood up and pointed at nothing. "Get one more person out and the game will end."

"It'll be you," Quill muttered. He stood up, raising his hand. "Can I still ask one?"

"Go ahead," Loki replied with a shrug.

"Never have I ever read fanfiction." Everyone just stared at him in silence. "Just me?" He sat down, his eyes glued to the table. "I was just curious."

"What did you read?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

��I tried to read this awful story called Finite War about Loki dying in the war instead of Thor."

"That's just…" He rested his hand on his throat, his eyes wide. "Why?"

"Who wrote that?" Mantis asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Some weirdo called The Clueless Brothers."

"Is no one gonna point out that Quill technically has negative one points now?" Drax asked, gesturing to Quill.

"Welp." Rocket slammed his fist into his hand, smiling devilishly. "Time to chop his finger off." Loki snorted with laughter.

"No thanks!" Quill replied, shoving his hands behind his back. "Drax." He nodded to him.

"Never have I ever eaten an entire pizza on my own," Drax replied, glaring right at Loki. He let out a sigh, putting a finger down. Mantis did the same.

"It's down to Loki and Rocket," she replied, smiling and gazing between the two of them.

"And it's my turn." Rocket stood up and cleared his throat. Loki's heart pounded in his ears. "Never have I ever… stolen the Aether." Loki smirked.

"Actually, you did that," Loki replied, pointing at Rocket. "I just told you where to go."

"What?!" Rocket's eyes widened. "But you were-"

"Talking with my mother the whole time," Loki interrupted, pride swelling in his chest. "I wasn't even there when you stole the Aether."

"I mean, even if you want to count that as helping, you're still out," Quill replied, pointing at Rocket. The raccoon clenched his fists, putting down his last finger.

"Congratulations, you played yourself," Mantis replied, clapping and smiling. Loki chuckled.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Rocket replied, gesturing to Groot. "Groot won anyways."

"Well done, Groot." Loki clapped sarcastically. "You have done very little with your life."

Groot smiled and shrugged. "I am Groot," he replied in agreement.