Chapter Text
Adrian was hallucinating.
They must have been exposed to something, become sick, or maybe the upper floors of the elevator were getting to them.
This couldn't be Rocky! Rocky was dead, they had died on the initial leg of their journey, and were lost in space. Surely this ball was distorting what Adrian was hearing, making it sound like there was a different Eridian inside the capsule than the one they could hear… actually pretty clearly. It was an amazingly engineered job, of a quality that they still knew after all these years, and for the first time since the knock at their door, Adrian started to feel hope. Maybe they weren’t mistaken after all.
Adrian stood as Rocky helped the Alien into it’s temporary enclosure, taking time and care and helping the human to balance (as it appeared unsteady on its limbs), watching uncertainly as the medical team worked quickly to get the human into its Oxygen rich environment. Single-mindedly, Rocky moved very carefully in their enclosed ball, following every movement the human made and making sure it was never at risk of falling.
Adrian watched entranced and in a state of shock, as Rocky tended to the human. They barely noticed the room around them and certainly didn't notice Adrian. Their focus was entirely on the human that they were bringing to the planet. Adrian was glad they had a moment to recover, as they had so many emotions flying through them they feared they would pass out. Shock, fear, excitement, disbelief, and some feelings that Adrian could hardly name, all raging together in a way that drove them to near illness. Rocky was the survivor of the ship! Strauss, at a glance beside them, didn't seem to be surprised at this information, so obviously they had called Adrian to welcome Rocky knowing that they were going to be greeting their spouse. Nobody had thought to explicitly inform Adrian that this was the case and had left things implied. Adrian recalled the conversation and understood better now, but still felt anger that they had walked into this unprepared because of poor communication.
Watching Rocky take the utmost care with their human, and thinking back to the footnotes (and realizing now that some of it was indeed directed towards them), Adrian felt the air struggle to go through their vents as they realised the care that Rocky must have for this creature. This was the one that had been called “the sole reason for both the solution of the star problem, as well as its delivery to our planet”, that had been lauded for being the one who saved the remaining Eridian from the vastness of space. Adrian felt a pang of concern for Grace, suddenly feeling the high stakes of it’s survival. They stood aside and watched as the medical team, who were in xenonite suits within the human’s enclosure, took over from Rocky and helped the human into the airlock.
Once the human was cycled into its atmosphere and had started to take off its exterior suit, Rocky seemed to be able to focus on other things, and finally listened to the room around them. They moved slowly and hesitantly away from the human, in the hands of the doctors now but still turning its head towards rocky every chance it had, and moved to the middle of the room, across from Adrian and Strauss. Rocky reached up, and they pressed carefully at the seam of their ball; there was a click, and the seams of the xenonite split apart like a cracked egg. The shell fell to the ground on either side of Rocky, and for the first time in more years than they cared to acknowledge, there was nothing standing between Adrian and their Spouse.
They clicked cautiously as Rocky stood there silently, getting a good sense of their partner. Rocky was scarred and hadn't grown nearly as much as they should have over the centuries. While Adrian had always been much larger than Rocky, they nearly towered over them now. They appeared stressed and distracted, turning their body towards the human slightly in a manner that copied the human’s head, before turning back to Adrian and Strauss. Adrian got a good listen to their scarring, seeing the way that space had hurt them, and Adrian felt all of their hearts ache at the thought of the pain that their love had gone through.
“Is it really you, my love?” Adrian sang out roughly, voice hardly working, thick with all their emotions.
“Adrian… my mate… You're here. Amaze Amaze!” Rocky let out a song somewhere between relief and agony. “Rocky so happy happy happy to see you again. Rocky thought would never see Adrian again… or Adrian move on while Rocky gone” Rocky let out some strange trills that sounded of sadness and joy at the same time, a most peculiar expression of emotion. How had space changed Rocky? Why were they speaking like that?
“Never, my Mate. I told you before you left and I meant it, I will love you until the end of my days. No time apart can separate us, and nothing could ever cease my love for you. However, I can't believe you’re home. After all these years, I thought I had lost you”.
Rocky grew still and silent, before saying in their lowest octave, “Adrian nearly did lose Rocky, only because Grace rescue did Rocky survive. Grace is reason for return to Erid. He is reason for Taomeobea plan to save star… and other crewmates not lucky lucky lucky like Rocky.”
Rocky must have picked up some language from the human, or their time in space alone had warped their singing, with the thick accent that Rocky was speaking in, almost like a pebble. They could understand, but there were words here and there that Adrian was certain were nonsense.
Rocky took a hesitant step forward, then another, before stumbling quickly through the last few steps to approach Adrian, before throwing their front limbs around what they could reach of Adrian, grasping their leg and part of their carapace. Adrian stood in shock as they were held by Rocky, who said quietly, “Is human hug, to show great affection,” before they were released and Rocky took a few steps back.
Adrian noticed a medical team anxiously standing to the side, waiting to approach Rocky and do their tests. Their loved one paid them no heed as they clicked and inspected Adrian and the room around them. Rocky turned their body again to face Strauss, before saying hesitantly, “Captain of ship not survive, Rocky bring back Ship Log and Taomeobea to save star, but no could save crew. Rocky watch whole crew die and could not fix. But Rocky Grace fix star.”
Strauss hummed appreciatively. “Thank you for your service, Saviour Rocky, Survivor of the Trip to the Stars. Our whole planet has you to thank. You should let the medical staff see to you while your Human is being attended to”
This caused Rocky to turn back towards the human, who had made it’s way to the bed and was being attended by Eridian doctors.
“Grace is hungry hungry hungry. No have enough food to stay healthy. On ship there is sample of coma slurry for science team. Please fix grace.” Rocky said the last part uncertainty, fear for their friend evident.
Adrian spoke up, “My love, Grace is in the best of hands and I’m sure all of Erid will be dedicated to making sure they have what they need to survive. Im working on the Biodome for the human’s enclosure, I'm an Architect now, so we can work together to make sure that Grace's new home is perfect for it to thrive.”
This brought life back to Rocky, “Of course Adrian learn more, get fancy job while Rocky away! So proud, Cannot wait to hear about plans and share ideas! Rocky Adrian make great home for Grace, keep safe on Erid!” Rocky skittered slightly back and forth in excitement.
This was enough to make the medical team step in. “First, Rocky must be seen by the doctor” the head of the medical team sang clearly, “There is no saying how time in space, on that ship has affected you. Please come to the medical bay for your health to be assessed now.”
Rocky moved anxiously closer to Adrian, who nudged them forward towards the medical bay. “The doctors will take good care of you and I'll be right here beside you. You're home now, dear, you’ve done it. You’ve saved the star and made your way back to me. It’s time to rest now.”
Rocky made an affirmative noise, making sure that Grace was alright in their enclosure, and with the thump of the Human’s heart keeping a steady pace, Rocky walked to their medical bay and submitted to the doctors.
Adrian couldn't believe how quickly their reality had changed, but as they listened between the Human and Rocky, both being seen by doctors, they couldn't help but start thinking of plans for the human enclosure and how to make it accessible for frequent visits, or maybe even for co-habitation, for Eridians. They had a feeling that Rocky wouldn't be going far from Grace anytime soon, and Adrian planned to be by their side until they were no longer able to. It seemed like the Human would be playing a major part in Adrian's life, as someone important to Rocky, and Adrian was excited to get to know more about this strange squishy lifeform from across the stars.
They hoped someone figured out the food situation soon.
Until then, Adrian would do what they could to support both Rocky and their Human, and make sure that they settled back to Erid as easily as possible. There was a long road ahead of them, but with Rocky at their side, they felt finally, after all these years, like maybe there was hope after all.