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It's after they both nearly die on Adrian and scrape themselves together into some hobbled and healing version of an eridian and human that he finally has the brilliant idea, as if bestowed upon him by the gods that rule over this corner of the galaxy, to look up ABBA.
It is a tragedy of epic proportions that Ryland hasn't introduced Rocky to them. Actually, scratch that, it's a downright shame that they haven't really touched music much at all. Ryland guesses that the astrophage and death of life has something to do with that. Fair if sad, but now that the taumoeba is eating and breeding their way into nitrogen resistance its prime real estate to play some tunes.
He chooses a classic, the quintessential ABBA song that even the most novice listener could name. The great and powerful Dancing Queen. The piano drag that always reels him in and Ryland isn't even a big ABBA fan. He mimes playing the babum babum babum and measures the nitrogen content of the breeder farms. Of course this is the moment that Rocky decides to roll in just as Ryland is acting stupid.
“What is noise, question?”
“This is one of the greatest musical hits of human history”
“Anybody could be that guy! Night is young and music’s high-” ABBA chips in.
“Hit, question? Human music strange” Then Rocky pauses, obviously following along with the tune, “What doing with arms, question?” He mimes my piano playing from before just as the babum babum babum pops in.
“Pretending to play the piano. It's an instrument that's played with all ten fingers and has, like, eighty keys. It's probably the closest instrument I know of that sounds like you” Which is a pretty cool thought, the key striking the string that vibrates to make the note is complicated and Rocky does the steam powered version without thinking. “This song is called Dancing Queen”
“Young and sweet, only seventeen. Dancing Queen! Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah” Agnetha and Anni-Frid belt in the background.
“Need word before queen” Rocky says, a little more invested and a little less hesitant of this human music. He sets his notebook for the nitrogen levels down in pure horror.
“No way we haven't covered dancing!” The tragedy is unfolding into a defcon one. Humanity's first friendship with an alien and the premiere human experience of dancing has been overlooked. Someone fire him now. “It's..Well..” He doesn't want Rocky's first impression to be a half strung sentence even Ryland will barely understand. “I'll just show you” And clicks replay.
The piano drags again, vocals play and the babum babum babum follows.
“You can dance, You can jive, Having the time of your life!” Ryland doesn't try to think, doesn't think about how much he has never danced and how much he probably looks dumb. He listens to the beat and the piano- he follows the words and how it feels and just moves. He sways and swings his hips rhythmically, bobs his head and does whatever pops into his head with his arms. It's uncoordinated and messy with Ryland nearly bumping into a table but wow is it fun!
He didn't even notice his eyes closed until he opened them to look around the lab for the essential equipment every artist needs. He finds it near the wall and twirls over to pick up a pipette. Every singer needs a microphone.
“Youre in the mood for a dance, And when you get the chance” He sings into the pipette, twirling again and giggling a bit.
Rocky bounces on his feet and wiggles his carapace, “Ohh! Is ♫♪♬! Dancing!” He wiggles more and bobs, seemingly at random with little coordination but like Ryland is any better. They just follow the beat and let ABBA run wild.
Ryland turns the pipette to Rocky and lets the eridian equivalent of singing ABBA overtake them both. Switching from himself to Rocky and back again all the while the two of them dance. They are, in no uncertain terms, dancing novices for both of their respective species if Rocky's “Rocky no dance often!” is to be believed.
They both pretend to play the three quick notes of the piano. Babum, he's always felt too awkward to dance with anyone on earth like a fool who plays a part in someone else's story. Babum, yet here with Rocky, it feels like what it was always supposed to be about. Babum, this is the most fun Ryland has ever had dancing.
“You can dance! You can jive! Having the time of your life. Ooh ohh See that girl, Watch that scene, Digging the Dancing Queen!!” Ryland sings with Rocky's musical notes overlapping. They share the pretend microphone this time. Ryland is for sure starting to sweat from all the dancing but the endorphins from actually having fun is too good a high.
The song winds down as they do, Rocky taps at the xenonite of his tunnel. “Grace heart fast”
“Haha yeah, I haven't danced that hard- well, ever!” He smiles hard and readjusts his glasses. Rocky chirps happily.
“Yes! Much fun. Erid also dance. Similar to human dance but not exact. Rocky liked” Ryland and ABBA one point. “Rocky like ABBA very much. Play more” Getting his best friend into disco is, well…Ryland still has time to introduce him to more genres. “Grace not dance often, question?”
The question throws him in a loop for a minute. Such a simple question. He thinks for a moment and really ponders the question. The intent behind it and compares the notes in his head with what he knows about Rocky. His best friend who he trusts every inch of his being with, the one person in this grand cosmos that has ever understood him without having to try.
“Yknow, someone really smart on Earth said the most basic form of existence is sleep-” now that gets Rocky's full attention and Ryland turns to look at him with a smile “and a step above that is dancing” and now that he really, really thinks about it the truer it is. The trees and grass dance. The bacteria dance and water is always in a rhythmic motion. Even the light waves dance. “Earth is just one big dance party”
“Rocky not fully understand but trust Grace”
“If you ever visit Earth you'll get it. In fact, you'll join the dance” That he does believe. “I guess I did dance a lot but I just didn't know it. Never had a dance partner though”
“Rocky best dance partner now!” Well, that's true but Ryland isn't going to admit it. “Grace best dance partner too.” He warbles. Oh boy. Rocky sure knows how to raise the bar.
“I guess I never danced with other humans because my beat was always different from theirs” He admits. He's never made friends easily and was either two steps ahead or five steps behind everyone else. Always a different beat, a different pace, a different thought process. Of course it's in space with light years of distance between Earth and Ryland that he finds someone on the same tune as him.
“Rocky Grace share beat”
“Yeah bud, Rocky Grace share beat” He puts a hand up to the wall and presses it, Rocky does the same.
“Good, now play more ABBA”
Ryland laughs and moves to plug away at the computer's music queue to go through ABBA’s top 50. They listen to Chiquitita and Dancing Queen enough times for him to hear it in his sleep.