Chapter Text
All Grace remembers is saying a heartfelt goodbye to Rocky. He couldn’t keep food down anymore so he had no choice but to slip into another medically induced coma to survive. They didn’t need to land, Rocky had reassured him that the Eridians could use the ‘space elevator’, a crazy concept for Grace, and access their ship. Rocky had also analysed the blue prints for the beetles, constructing a similar device as they neared Erid. They had both pushed it out of the airlock together, the radio signal hopefully should give the Eridians the information they need to get to work in helping Grace as soon as they could.
“Alright, buddy.” Grace had groaned as he lay down on the bed in the infirmary. Armando lingered above him, injection already carefully clutched in its metal claws. “I’ll see you on the other side?”
“What is other side, question?” Rocky seemed to grumble, using his xenonite ball to pace restlessly around Grace’s bed. “Rocky watch Grace sleep. Then when Grace wake up Eridian doctors help Grace, Grace get better and live happily.”
Grace loved to listen to Rocky’s stories of Erid, the fantasy that they would eventually reach Rocky’s planet and he would be saved was what had kept Grace going. Also because he would never leave Rocky willingly.
“Yes, please watch me sleep. And Rocky?” Grace swallowed thickly as he rested his palm against Rocky’s xenonite ball. “Mary will watch you sleep, so don’t exhaust yourself.”
Rocky seemed very reluctant, his back 3 legs teetering from one side to another. “Okay, Grace get better in sleep, question?”
Grace nodded, smiling softly. Rocky let out a miserable warble, running one of his front arms along the other arm’s grooves. Goodbye.
Grace mimicked the action, his heart feeling warm from being so cared for. He took a deep breath.
“Put me under, Armando.”
Rocky’s POV
Grace hasn’t woken up yet. We reached Erid 3 MONTHS ago, but they still keep him on the Hail Mary because his biome hasn’t been finished yet. Erid has changed so much while I was gone, but I haven’t cared to explore it. The only one I’ve properly spoken to is Adrian, my mate. His larger silhouette is a comforting warmth beside Grace’s bed.
“Rocky, please, let’s go to our nest, you must sleep, I must watch,” Adrian murmured as I hid under him, settling beneath him. I haven’t visited my family or our nest because of Grace. Because Grace isn’t awake yet.
“No, I must watch Grace sleep to make sure he is safe,” I warble. I hear Adrian’s frustrated sigh, but he has to understand. Grace is the saviour of Erid, he sacrificed his own chance of returning to Earth for me, for all Eridians. Adrian doesn’t say anything else, just holding me close, letting me bask in his love.
I had been scared in my ship before Grace had come, my ship he had dubbed ‘Blip-A’. Surrounded by the corpses of my crew who had gone to sleep and never woken up. As time passed and helplessness settled deep inside of me. I had imagined that Adrian had moved on, found another mate and considered me dead. That was the rational choice and point of view. But Adrian, my beautiful mate, had waited for me this whole time. Maybe it was selfish of me to be glad that he had been mateless this entire time, but I think I wouldn’t have been able to bear it if Adrian found another mate.
“Saviour Rocky, Esteemed Adrian,” greeted the lead doctor, her front two claws holding a xenonite clipboard where she had carved in some important details. “Saviour Grace seems to be doing better since our team created what the leaky aliens call ‘Vitamin C’. It is good thing, because Saviour Grace’s teeth aren’t leaking red iron anymore!”
I fell limp with relief at the sound of progress, Adrian cooing as he kept me upright with a claw. “When will Grace wake up, question?” I asked, tapping my claw against the ground twice to indicate that it was a question, and an urgent one.
“Rocky, my love, please be patient,” Adrian scolded, sensing that I had interrupted the doctor before she could say anything. I growled lowly but rubbed my carapace lovingly against Adrian’s, falling quiet.
“Yes yes yes, Saviour Grace should wake up very soon, we have cloned his liquidy coma slush and based on the samples Saviour Rocky gave us of human food, our scientists are going through the final testings of making what the human thinking machine calls ‘fruit’. Many different shapes, but should be good for Saviour Grace to chew as he wakes up!” the doctor explained, making jazz hands.
“Thank Erid,” I groaned in relief. I trusted Adrian to handle everything else, all I heard was that Grace was going to wake up soon. Going through the complicated process of getting into my new form fitting xenonite suit, I scrambled into Grace’s bedroom on the Hail Mary orbiting Erid. The engineers on Erid had found the problem of treating Grace in his different atmosphere fascinating. It was my second thrum immediately after the first one figuring out how to feed Grace.
It felt amazing to be home, to hear the harmony of all the Eridian voices joining together, all to save my Grace. I clambered up the bed to rest carefully atop Grace’s chest, careful not to put my whole weight on the leaky human or else I would break his already fragile bones.
Adrian joined me a little while later, a bit grumpy at the discomfort of the xenonite suit, but he withstood it for me. “I’ll watch Rocky sleep,” Adrian murmured, settling down beside Grace’s bed. I loved how safe my beautiful mate made me feel.
“And watch Grace sleep?”
“And watch Grace sleep.”
“Alright,” I finally surrendered, we both knew I hadn’t slept properly in months and was on the verge of a total shut down.
Grace’s chest rose and fell slowly. I tapped against the surface of the bed to hear or ‘see’ Grace better. He looked so skinny and fragile, gone were the muscles that had helped us on our mission, had helped save me by carrying me back into my dome inside the Hail Mary. I only realised I was shaking when Adrian pet me gently with a claw.
Under my mate’s careful watch, I felt myself drift into a deep sleep, Grace’s lovely heart beating weakly beneath me.