One friendship I did not realize I needed, and want to see so much more of, is Rocket and Nebula.

The two unlikely pals bonded over the loss of their teammates when Thanos snapped away half of the population, which included 75% of the Guardians of the Galaxy team.

We first see the two interact in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 after the imprisoned Nebula is released by the Sovereign people into the custody of Gamora and the Guardians.

After manipulating Baby Groot into releasing her, Nebula incapacitates Rocket and Yondu and imprisons them on the Ravagers’ ship during a mutiny. When the Guardians realize the bigger threat is Peter’s celestial father Ego, the ragtag team must join forces with Nebula to save Peter and take down Ego.

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Rocket and Nebula are the only members of the Guardians team who survived Thanos’s snap. In the beginning of the following film, Avengers: Endgame, we see the two share a tender moment after Captain Marvel rescues Tony Stark and Nebula from floating in space. Rocket and Nebula hold hands while sitting at the edge of the ship, comforting each other in the face of losing their friends and family.

Nebula has had immense growth and Rocket is, hands down, one of my favorite MCU characters. He is surly but sensitive, loyal, super intelligent, a supportive dad, and…

…Ain’t no thing like me, ‘cept me.

Rocket

Approximately six years later, while celebrating Christmas on Knowhere for Peter, Nebula gifts Rocket with what appears to be Bucky’s arm. While how she acquired Bucky’s indestructible appendage or what jokes Sam is making at his expense remain to be seen, none of that matters when you see the beautiful look of pure disbelief and joy on Rocket’s face. I am so invested in this friendship, but all I can do is hope that James Gunn doesn’t break our hearts (again) too badly in the upcoming sequel next year.

What do you think about their friendship? Do you hope to see more of them together in GOTG 3?