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“Hey Rocky, do Eridians dream?” They were cozied up in the bedroom, Rocky pressed up against his side of the wall, with Grace leaning back against his. The bed, much more comfortable for a human back, would lay dormant, at least for the half of the night that Rocky slept. This was their ritual, one that Grace had come to rely on each night.
“I do not know that word,” came the response, as Rocky shifted, his carapace bumping against the Xenonite. “Explain.”
“Dreaming is...Hm...” How best to explain the concept to a creature that didn’t see? Well, no that wasn’t entirely a fair question, after all, blind people dreamed. They didn’t see. And Grace was certain that bats probably dreamed, not that he’d ever met a bat, or even talked to a chiroperologist. Whales used echolocation, just like Eridians. They most definitely dreamed–
“Grace! Grace lost in thought again. Explain word.” The knocking against his head, coupled with the very insistent voice broke Grace out of his thought spiral. Not that the spiral really helped him come up with an explanation.
“I was thinking how best to explain it,” Grace scooted away from the wall, turning to face Rocky. “You’re impatient.”
“Grace think too slow. Explain. Explain. Explain.”
“Okay! Fine, fine.” He hopped to his feet, grabbing his quilt from the bed. Wrapping it around his shoulders like a cape, he began to pace. “Dreaming is...when your brain gives you a succession of images, sounds, thoughts, ideas, emotions and sensations during sleep. Sometimes they make sense, oftentimes they don’t.”
“Ohh. No. Eridians do not dream. We hear thrumming of Eridian watching over us. How we know we are safe. What does Grace dream about?”
He’d been having the same nightmare every few nights since he woke up. Well, not the same exactly, but a similar vibe. He’s running. Scared for his life. Something chasing him.
Can’t let it catch him.
Have to keep going.
Almost safe.
Almost home.
He trips.
He’s caught.
He knows for certain that he’s dead.
He feels a sharp stabbing pain.
Then he wakes up. Heart pounding, adrenaline pumping. It takes him a few minutes to get his bearings and to calm down. It feels significant. Like it means something. If only he could run fast enough, he’d find the meaning, or something like that.
He shakes his head to clear the thought. “Oh ah...sometimes I dream about being back on Earth. I dream about school, teaching my students. I dream about doing a science. Sometimes I have bad dreams. Scary ones that don’t really make sense. Sometimes I dream that I’m talking to you. You’re much nicer to me in my dreams.”
“Rocky is not mean to Grace. Grace is just sensitive. Explain bad dreams.”
“Ah...” He rubbed his eyes and sat back down, leaning against the wall again. “I have dreams that I’m being chased. That I’m going to get hurt. I have dreams that I failed the mission, and everyone on Earth dies. I have dreams that you get hurt and I can’t help you.”
“None of those things will happen. Rocky and Grace will save stars.”
“Yeah. I know that. I can’t really control my dreams, Rock. It’s just my...brain being mean to me.”
“Grace brain should be nice to Grace.” He might have been imagining it, but that statement felt more matter of fact than most. Grace smiled and nodded.
“Yeah. It should. So you said you hear the thrumming of those watching over you. That sounds comforting. And...” he trailed off, realizing that for years and years, Rocky had no comforting sounds to help him sleep. His dreams must have felt so empty, so alone. He turned to look at his friend, a tightness in his chest. He had to help Rocky get home.
No.
He would help Rocky get home. No matter what.
“Rocky hears Grace heartbeat now. I feel safe.”
A heat rose to Grace’s cheeks that had nothing to do with the immense heat of the artificial Eridian atmosphere behind the wall. He scratched his head and cleared his throat. “Wowie, it got hotter in here for some reason. That is...so strange!”
“Temperature in ship did not change. Temperature is steady for both human and Eridian comfort. Is Grace okay, question?”
To be the sole source of comfort for someone else, that was a foreign concept for Ryland Grace. Even in his few short-lived relationships, he had never had someone else say something so...kind about him before. He didn’t know how to handle it.
“Y-yeah, yeah. I’m great, buddy. I’m just...uh...I’m just touched that you...you know hear my heartbeat in your sleep. That’s...really...that means a lot to me. It just surprised me, that’s all.”
“Grace means a lot to Rocky. Grace makes Rocky feel safe. And makes Rocky not alone anymore.”
Ah heck. Grace turned away, wiping his eyes. He was leaking again. He sniffled and nodded. “Yeah. Right back at you. Now, how about we get some sleep, huh? Look at us, just sitting here yapping like an old married couple.” He blinked back more tears. “Get some sleep, I’ll watch over you.”
“Rocky will get sleep. Goodnight, Grace.”
“Goodnight, Rocky.”
I love you.