Chapter Text
In his sleep, Simon had become feverish, and Armando was doing what he could, but all Grace could really do was wait. Rocky was visiting less nowadays, so Grace was surprised when he arrived so suddenly.
Shocked awake by the door slamming open, Grace shot up, fists raised in a sleepy attempt at defence.
Instead he just saw Rocky bustling around the room.
‘Grace! I came to see how Grace and Simon doing- what happen, Question??’ He seemed genuinely concerned, despite past disputes.
“Uh..” Grace’s voice shook a little, so he cleared his throat, “...you know the mutation? It…he accidentally shocked himself, basically…and it got worse."
‘Will Simon be ok, question?’
Grace looked to the man on the bed, looking as inhuman but striking as ever. Grace wanted to study him. Grace wanted to hold him. Grace wanted to sit and apologise until his voice came out hoarse and ragged.
In the time waiting for Simon to awake, Grace had been stuck in his own head, having gotten used to the prospect of having someone to talk to. Without that output, and the reason for the lack of output being him, Grace couldn't help but feel horrible, gut-twisting guilt. He had scared Simon. He had known better.
Simon would be okay; he would live, and Grace was relieved, but was alive enough? Would Simon hate Grace for triggering this change? Grace would always be grateful of his own living state, despite deficiencies and injuries, but Simon was a different person. How was Grace to know?
“He’ll live.”
‘Good good good! Grace watching Simon sleep, question?’
“Yeah bud.”
‘Grace tired. Grace sleeps and Rocky watches Simon and Grace.’
About to retaliate, Grace turned to Rocky, but he was unsure how to argue back. He was tired. Exhausted. He had tried not to sleep for fear Simon would wake alone, but if Rocky was watching then surely they'd be okay.
“Just…promise you'll wake me if he gets up…?”
‘Promise.’
—
Nudge. Nudge. Nudge.
Grace’s head lolled forward as he started to wake, feeling something repeatedly hitting his leg.
He groaned, before remembering Rocky’s promise and shooting up. Two faces stared at him. The ‘front’ of Rocky’s carapace, and the sweet face of Simon displaying a reassuring smile.
Grace sighed in relief. Simon didn't look mad like he had feared, and he looked a lot better than before. Thank gosh because Grace always messed these things up and it was always his fault and he didn't want to stop a decent thing with Simon– He didn't even realise the tears streaking down his cheeks.
Simon’s smile faltered.
He stood and walked to Grace, sitting beside him on the chair all while Rocky pressed comfortingly into Grace’s leg in his xenonite suit, like a grounding weight.
“Rocky said you were worried, but I'm okay. Okay?”
Grace sniffled and nodded weakly, still scared to touch Simon as he felt the man’s arm snake around his back.
Eventually, Grace felt his eyes droop once again, his hours without sleep again taking their toll.
—
Grace’s arm ached. The burnt skin isolated to his left side rarely hurt nowadays, and Grace had been lucky so far, with the extra pressure of Erid taking less of a toll than he had expected.
It seemed to be catching up on him now. His arm ached and he felt horribly weak.
Simon noticed the slight shift in breath. How Grace's eyes fluttered but didn't fully open, and how his breathing got slightly shallower and shakier.
“Grace? You're awake?”
Simon was still in the bed, and Grace had been moved next to him. As Grace shifted Simon noticed his wince, but decided not to mention it for now.
“You alright?”
Grace groaned as he opened his eyes, and Armando dimmed the light.
“My arm..”
Grace sleepily glanced at Simon’s lack of a left arm, suddenly feeling another wave of guilt for his complaints.
“I mean-...sorry.”
Simon followed Grace's gaze.
“What fo- oh. Don't be sorry? Why?"
Moving to stand, Grace stumbled slightly out of the bed, only for his knees to feel weak and his arm to ache. Simon immediately stepped forward, ready to assist, and Rocky came closer too.
Whilst Grace slept, Simon had catalogued his mutations and…gotten as used to them as he ever would. Rapid growth of the new teeth had cut his cheek open and split his tongue somehow, but Simon could only fully control the right half, the other moving with a mind of its own.
The spiky spines had also grown, causing initial discomfort, but Armando had applied some instantly relieving gel labelled...bonjela? He didn't get a good look at the packaging before Armando whisked it away to some dispenser tube.
What Grace noticed first when he awoke again was the teeth. He had stared but had previously been hesitant with touching a Simon while the man slept. Now he was awake, he decided to ask.
“Can I touch?”
“Huh? Uh, what- sure-?”
Reaching forward whilst leaning on the side of the bed for support, Grace went for Simon’s cheek, stroking it oh so tenderly and feeling the teeth sticking out.
Grace murmured various observations under his breath, putting his hand to the teeth.
It was a surprise, however, when the secondary tongue poked out and licked Grace’s hand.
Grace immediately froze, pulling his hand away instinctively. “Wha? Uh! Jus-!”
Simon’s brows furrowed in surprise and concern. “What? What happened?”
Grace stared down at his wet hand, and Simon followed suit, pausing a moment before realising what he had done.
“Shoot! Sorry?” His eyes were wide and worried.
“It's uh- it's fine..-? I don't..”
Simon could taste Grace’s hand on his tongue, and it felt weird. Not that Grace tasted bad–
It was then that Grace left the room with a murmured, “I'll get us some food”
He walked out and Simon soon followed suit (alongside a suspisciously quiet Rocky), only to see Grace taking something out of a freezer-looking container Simon hadn't seen him open before.
He got out two circular pieces of meat, putting them on a pan on the stovetop and starting to cook them.
It did seem a little random, and was clearly some distraction, but Simon had been hungry and hesitant to get food while Grace was asleep, so he didn't do anything. He had also wondered how his…new second mouth would react. It could probably just spit out the food of its own accord, or maybe the mutations would make everything taste horrible…not that he'd refuse the food either way.
Grace then paused after a couple minutes of letting the meat cook, as if coming out of a daze.
“How familiar are you with ethical cannibalism?”