Chapter Text
Life aboard the Hail Mary wasn’t all that bad actually. If you ignored your impending doom, it was actually kind of nice. Space was peaceful, and your crew mates were perfect entertainment.
Well, that is if you count your new friend the alien rock creature. If not, then your one crew mate and newly found alien friend were perfect entertainment.
The plan forward was… understood enough. Both you and Ryland still brainstormed and discussed it everyday, but this mission involved a lot of waiting. A lot of time. So, naturally, everyone got to know each other pretty well. Easily, you all fell into a rough schedule, and floated along in space peacefully.
Well, at least you were.
Something was off these past few days. You both had been traveling for a good few weeks now, and by being around him most all of every day, you knew Ryland Grace like the back of your hand. And something was definitely… off.
He’s seemed more tired than usual, far less talkative, and was more unfocused than you’ve ever seen him. He was down in the lab while you and Rocky sat in the control room. The alien was always scarily perceptive.
“Why y/n worried, question?”
You looked his way. “Have you noticed anything about Ry recently?”
“Grace friend very unfocused, not talk to Rocky much at all. Is that y/n’s worry, question?”
“Yeah,” you say with a sigh, sinking into the control room chair surrounded by screens but not focusing on a single one. Your eyes were locked on to the hatch that led down to the lab.
“Why you think Grace friend unfocused, question?”
“I’m not really sure,” you say, pulling your eyes from the hatch to look at Rocky’s capsule. “Nothing has happened out of the ordinary recently, just a whole lot of stars, stars, math, talking to you, and more stars.” You say rubbing your hands down your face.
“Rocky go ask Grace friend.” He said, already halfway out the room before you registered. “Rocky— wait!” But it was too late.
——————
Grace friend looked tired. Grace friend had head on lab table but was not asleep via Rocky’s vision. He lifted head when Rocky entered.
“What wrong with Grace, question?”
“Hm?” He hummed. Rocky did not know meaning of that word. “Oh, hey Rocky. I’m— fine, no worries.”
“Grace friend look tired, should sleep.” Rocky thinks logical connection. Humans sleep more than Rocky, but humans don’t work well if they only sleep as often as Rocky sleeps.
“I know I know, I just can’t.”
“Why not, question? Grace forget how, question?”
“No no, not that. Humans, uhm…” he sighs, taking his glasses off and placing them on the lab table. Grace friend drags hands on face like y/n friend. Must be human sign of distress. Rocky notes.
“Human’s bodies sometimes keep the human from sleeping for random reasons. The bad thing is the body doesn’t always tell the human what it needs to sleep, so the human just has to guess until something works.” Grace sighed, staring at the wall. Grace doesn’t usually stare at walls. Rocky notes.
“Y/n could help Grace friend.”
“I.. doubt it.” He says, body-temperature oddly going up. Rocky sees. “Besides, I don’t want her to worry about me like that. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But Y/n is worried!”
“She is?” Grace looks at Rocky puzzled. Grace’s body-temperature rises more. Rocky sees.
“Yes! Y/n friend—“
The hatch above opens.
——————
“Rocky!” You say peaking your head down into the lab after some short anxiety, some ease dropping, and then some anxiety again.
“Sorry— I didn’t mean for him to bother you.”
“Oh no, it’s ok I… wasn’t getting anything done anyway” Ryland says, looking to you before quickly looking away after seeming realized he did so.
It’s now that you quickly come to the realization that you really do not like seeing Grace feel bad.
“You sure you’re doing alright?” You say, walking up to the edge of the lab table as Rocky wanders around the room.
It takes him a moment of consideration (or comprehension, you’re unsure) before he answers, eyes looking at anything but you. “No,” he says with a sigh, leaning back in his chair similarly to you moments ago. He squeezes his eyes shut for a second before opening them and staring to the ceiling.
You decide to take a risk. You and Grace were close, yes, but not on a crazy level. You both knew each other before the mission— but only briefly, and all while on Stratt’s military aircraft.
You were more close on a… we’re trapped in space with no hope of return to the world we know and love level.
That’s enough bonding needed to just offer a hug right? Surly.
He doesn’t see you for a moment, leading you to be very awkwardly standing there for definitely a second too long. Aka, way too long have your hands open offering a hug, but he doesn’t notice so it’s fine.
When he does, he stares for a second, before finally looking you in the eye. And then, something cracks.
All his weight is on you in an instant as he holds onto you for dear life. It’s as if he thinks the second he lets go he’ll physically fall apart. And he’s crying.
You never took him to be a crier. Then again, those general facts about a person tend to not mean much when the crushing pressure of saving a planet you’ll never see again in pressing down on said person. You’ve been trying not to think about those harsh realities, but at a point it’s impossible.
You’ve find yourself tearing up briefly, but quickly wipe it away. You decide right now is his turn. You’ll break eventually.
He doesn’t stop for a long time. Rocky comes up to you like a cat at a point, grazing your legs with his xenonite capsule as you gesture for him to go upstairs. He doesn’t understand many human concepts like privacy for example, but in this moment he doesn’t question it and leaves after a simple look from you over Grace’s shoulder.
“Please don’t let go— I— I can’t—“
Oh crap when did he start hyperventilating— you have such a bad habit of zoning out.
“Hey hey, I’m not going anywhere ok? It’ll be ok, but you have to breathe first for that to happen yeah? Can you match mine?” You say, taking slow and loud breaths so he would hopefully notice the breaths in some way.
He doesn’t.
“I can’t- I- I’m so scared— I’m sorry—“ He buries his head further into your shoulder.
“Ry, you don’t have to apologize but you do have to copy me—“ your cut off by his panicked rambling.
“I didn’t realize I— I’m not usually— please just don’t leave me I—“
“I ATE A BEEHIVE.”
.
.
.
“W-…what?”
He says, rambling stopped and breathing a bit better because of it.
“Sorry I had to get you to shut up for a second. Well like, in a ‘you’re having a panic attack’ type of way. Anyway! Can you copy my breathing? I’ll count it out to make it easier, in for four…”
This time, thankfully, he seems to hear and understand you. Why didn’t you think of counting earlier? You wouldn’t be able to hear a gust of air over body-racking sobs but whatever, everyone had their not so bright moments. Even the Sun.
After around 20 minutes, he seemed to be ok. He wasn’t holding you in a death grip anymore, but still a little tight. Still a thread of desperateness that came from the fear of you letting go.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a panic attack before…” he says quietly against your shoulder.
“Well, this is probably the most appropriate place to have one if I’m being honest.” You say casually. At least that gets a little laugh out of him.
“Actually.. I think I did have one in middle school when I had to give my first ever presentation. But it wasn’t.. like that. I’m sorry..”
You lean back just enough to flick him in the head before leaning back to how you were.
“A- hey! What was that for?”
“Apologizing.” You say simply, allowing your eyes to rest with your head hooked over his other shoulder.
This was nice.
Hugs were nice.
“Well I just—“
“Don’t do it again.”
“Ok,” he sighs in defeat. You realize for a moment some time has passed and you’re teetering on the line of unconsciousness if you don’t force your eyes open, so you do.
“Can we sleep? I’m literally going to fall asleep standing up.” You say rubbing your eyes and pulling away slightly. Before he says anything or reacts you go ahead and take one of his hands in yours while using the other to grab his glasses. He doesn’t say anything, but smiles. Something you haven’t seen in days. You’ll call it a win.
——————
“Grace friend better, question?” Rocky asks eagerly as you make your way back into the control room, up the ladder before Ryland. “Yes, Grace friend better.” You say with a soft smile.
You walk over to one of the sleeping areas you guys had made here in the control room since sleeping all the way down in the old coma dormitories started to feel weird knowing it’s where you’re third crew mate had died. Overtime, since waking up from your comas, it started making both of you guys more anxious and nightmare ridden sleeping down there. So, you decided to move the bedding up here instead. It had worked out way better anyways since there was more room up here for Rocky to stay and roam.
He was also a clingy alien, not that you could blame him after being alone for so long, so it was a win win for everyone.
As for tonight, you grabbed one of your blankets and pillows and plopped it next to his. As you did, he sealed shut the hatch down to the lab, having made it up the ladder, and looked at you.
Only to basically be tackled by Rocky.
“ROCKY!” you yell.
“Grace friend better!” Grace hit the floor. You couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yes— Yup— thank you Rocky please stop rolling over me-“
“Better! Y/N real doctor!” Rocky says rolling over him with his capsule, and you only laugh harder. Grace clearly goes some other shade of red but you pretend not to see it for his sake.
After some riveting debate (more like pleas), Rocky finally retreats as you wipe your eyes of tears from your laughter.
The heightened energy of the room dims as Rocky finds his place and settles down to sleep (a rarity, they’ve come to find) and you go ahead and sit, getting settled with your blanket.
Grace comes up to the setup but doesn’t move to actually lay down in his regular spot.
You push your second guessing deep deep deeeeeeeep down and hope your gut made the right move.
“You don’t have to… or well I don’t need—“ he starts, already fidgeting with his hands but you promptly cut him off.
“It’s ok to need some company, Ryland. I don’t mind.”
Thankfully, it seemed to be all the confirmation he needed as he got under the blanket of his usual spot.
You offer your hand with a brief brush of fingers. He takes it, holding it tight.
“Thank you.. Y/n.”
“No problem Ry. Anytime.”
Despite the endless void of space outside.
Despite the fact that they’ll never see their true home again.
Despite all the crushing truths of their situation, they had now. They had eachother.
Because what is a star without a sky to hold it.