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I sit there quietly waiting for the transmission ive been waiting for. Grace is thankfully entertaining himself with reading lab results for the 100th time so I have some time to myself given how distracted he is. Finally i heard it, the quiet chime of a song speaking through the radio for 50 years “....my song…is that you?” adrien whispered. I had a whole speech planed and all that but the second i heard their voice i just warbled like grace when he gets upset. “ my treasurer iot is me, i am here please hear me!” i chirped and i heard adrien warble in response. “I hear you my song, i hear you and soon i will feel you as well” she sang.
“....im sorry my treasure..i come back alone, i could not protect the crew…they all died one by one and i am whats left. I am so sorry to all their mates and kin. And i am sorry for making you wait so long….if you have moved on to another son i understand my treasure” i sing
“Never, not for a heartbeat. I have waited for you for 50 years and I will wait 50 more to pull you down from that ship if I have to” they said in their voice like a balm on my shell. I let off a quiet warble of relief and mercy. “I would not have blamed you treasure if you choose to take another” i whisper “but i am thankful for the love you have for me”
“When you return my song…we shall make sure you are healthy and cared for, we shall celebrate your victory and prepare to save our star…and when all the crowds have gone home..i will chase you though our home and remind you of my claws” she purrs.
My vents steam and i get flustered, it seems my mate intends to try and make me in the mood even over the radio. But i then hear a soft chitter of grace giggling and its like being dunked in oxygen. “...my mate…we must discuss something very important.” i say trying to keep my song stead. Adrien chitters quietly confused why fun times have stopped. “....my treasure…..i am bringing home….a pebble” i sand as carefully as i could. The silence on the other end was the calm before the storm as i heard at top volume adiren shriek “YOU CHEATED ON ME YOU SOFT BORISH ASSHOLE!?!” she shrieked.
“.NO my love! My treasure!! The situation is much more complicated than this!! .his name is grace…hes about 20 years old but only the size of a ten year old pebble…i found him on a ship from the sol system” i whisper voice barely singing. There is silence on the other end is so deafening to the point where I thought adrien had hung up. Finally there is a voice again.
“...a pebble…..in space….thjat you did not produce with another….that came from an entirely different solar system…and is eridien….correct?” The voice slowly sings as it seems to be trying to hide the disbelief. I quickly sing in rapid fire “yes all correct, i swear. Grace egg landed on a place called earth and he's been raised among these aliens called humans!! He didnt even know he had more than one chord until I met him! My treasure cruel cruel people sent him on a one way mission and lied to him, they lied and said when it was done he would go to sleep and wake up home but my treasure that was a lie! Mary was going to gas him and kill him!! He has so many burns…his shell is so much more fragile than most and he weighs so little. I know its not quite what we had planned for pebbles but…he is mine..i have bonded to him ... .i can not give his care to anyone else” i whisper the last part and hear the small tv in the other room go quiet. Grace must have heard my ramblings and is coming to check.
The silence on the end returns as Grace enters the command room chirping softly asking if i am ok. The radio cackles back to life with a startled trill. “.....is that…the pebble” i hear adrien sing. “Yes my treasure that is grace” I chirp as I pick Grace up and set him next to the radio. Grace gives a confused trill before introducing himself in our home language “hewo, i am Grace! Nith to meet you!” he chirps, his pronunciations off due to underdevelopment still and still learning the language. “You mwust be adrien! Rock named a whole planet after you!! We nam the home of star eater predetwor after you!” he says so damn proud. The silence on the other end is sharp before a quiet soft trill sounds out. It took me a minute to identify the trill as a mother calling to her child. “Oh hello grace, i cant wait to meet you” adrien whispers. “You sound so sweet and i will have to teach you to sing myself sense my song seems to be teaching you how to say words wrong” she croons.
“Hey! I am not teaching him wrong! He just has more to learn when he sings” i crooned back half heartedly before i hear a snort on the other side and can tell adrien is trying not to laugh. “I am an adult!” grace chirps loudly which gets a confused croon from adrien. I explain “earth humans age fast….they think grace age like that…grace still unlearning this is not the case, you will love how smart he is!” i chirp!
Grace is now angry, chittering about how hes not a toddler but starting to slur the chords which tells me its time for bed. I tell adrien i will be back and carry grace to the nest and hums softly as he fights sleep. It takes me a moment to hear adriens humming from the radio as well. He finally goes to sleep and i settle him into the sling with his blanket. And return to the radio.
“....hes perfect and i havent even gotten to sing to him” adrien whispered. “I know treasure…soon enough…soon enough you will. But if that is to happen we need to discuss how to safely get grace down without breaking his shell.” i sing back. And so we both buckle down disgusting how to help safely increase his bone desity and prepare his body for the gravity and the hunts for food. For the first time in so long i feel safe, i have my mate, i have my pebble and soon i will be back home.