Chapter Text
Simon looked over, his one sleeve hung limp, pinned at the elbow with a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes, yet held warmth aimed towards Grace. "Hey, Angel."
Grace had been going through their rations; there was still plenty for how long it would take to get to Erid, albeit on a strict portion sizes, which would suck, but would keep them alive until they figured out an alternative. He took a break to find Simon at the controls to stare out into the vastness of space.
"That’s still not my name," Grace said with a smile, even if the nickname made his face flush at times, but he tried not to overthink it. Simon was just being friendly, in his own way, and the last thing the former school teacher wanted was to make him uncomfortable.
Simon shrugged with his one good shoulder, "Close enough."
Rocky was in his dodecahedron made of xenonite, observing and seemingly upbeat. Happy, the response came from the program, mostly for Simon's benefit, as Grace was getting a better grasp of a language with no words.
Happy Grace found human friend! He better driver than Grace, Rocky clarified and added on, teasing of course. Not that one could tell with the AI voice, but Grace knew.
Simon messed with the collar of the dreadfully bad science pun he borrowed from Grace, which read "NEVER TRUST AN ATOM, THEY MAKE UP EVERYTHING." It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it worked for now.
It'd only been a month since they had found Simon floating aimlessly in space in what could best be described as a blood-filled tomb in the shape of a submarine. It'd taken time to open it, for Rocky to confirm he had sensed a heartbeat. Then out came Simon into the airlock.
The only other human he’d seen out in the universe had him captivated from the start- mostly because of the hell he’d look like he’d been through. His black, unruly locks, painful radiation scars, and was even missing an arm. Most of all, he was drenched in so much blood(?), but he'd taken one look at Grace as though he were an angel before promptly passing out.
Since then, and after having Armando check him out to ensure Rocky didn't overwhelm the poor guy, they gave Simon space. Little by little, like a feral cat that had never been treated kindly in its life, Simon became more vocal and less paranoid over Grace. (Surprisingly, he came to terms with Rocky relatively fast, saying that he'd seen far worse aliens in comparison and didn't elaborate.)
Then, well, learning the ex-convict wasn't from their world- a deduction they made when Simon tried to ask about the C.O.I, the Quiet Rapture, and so many things that didn't match up with Grace's earth, that the multiverse theory made the most sense. (Rocky had insisted on it and, despite having no face, was smug about his hypothesis being correct.)
They talked about nothing and everything. Well, most things, they avoided talking about their respective nightmares, personal topics, or uncomfortable ones, such as the way Simon had bad days and needed space away from the other two, or sometimes Grace felt anxious and only wanted to talk to Rocky.
Eventually, the two taught him about the ship, the AI, and the medical arm Armando (they weren’t alive, sure, but they kept him sane), and Rocky was excited to learn more about humans, seeing as he had more than one to talk with now.
"...You ever think about how weird it is?" Simon asked, as he stared out. (Grace noticed how calmer he seemed when staring out at the bright stars and thriving planets they passed.) "That out of all the places we could be, it's here. Together."
"Yeah?" Grace said with an amused smile, not really understanding what the other man was getting at, but faltered when Simon looked at him. "Is that bad?"
"No," The reply came quicker than expected. "...Just didn't expect to be floating in space with an alien and a school teacher. Or, well, still be here."
The other man fixed his glasses, and he tried hard not to stare, especially when the ex-convict finally looked his way. "Oh. Same. How about you, Rocky?"
Rocky emitted a low, vibrating hum from his corner. Rocky did not expect one human, Rocky now has two. Adrian will like Simon!
Adrian, Rocky’s mate, whom they would meet hopefully in due time when they got to the planet. To their new home. (Rocky said he could get his best engineers to see about fixing the hail mary to take them back to Earth once they had the resources, but the two hadn't talked about it much. They wanted to take it one day at a time, especially after what they'd endured respectively.)
"I'm sure we'll like them too," Grace said, and genuinely couldn't wait to meet his best friend's partner, especially with the way Rocky so reverently talked about them. He couldn't imagine what it was like being gone so long without seeing your mate, even with the long life span Eridans had.
Other than his students and befriending the others, before the crimping, was all Grace had to miss back home. Otherwise, Earth really had nothing for him to go back to.
As Eva said, he didn’t even have a dog.
"When I was a kid, all I ever wanted was to escape space," Simon said suddenly, openly making the other two pause. "To find... life. Anything that wasn't the station."
The silence hung between them amicably until the question came. He knew Simon had no idea of knowing, yet to see that smile directed at him made his stomach clench.
"You must’ve dreamed about this as a kid, right? Star-hopping science teacher saves the universe?"
It made Grace sound so much braver than he actually was. Yet... he felt comfortable enough now to share. It seemed only right; the last thing he wanted was to hide anything. Especially as his nightmares sometimes made him think of that day. The running, the begging, the needle-
"...Not exactly. I didn't really wanna go into space, it scared me as a kid but- yeah."
Rocky seemed to pause. They knew each other well enough to recognize Grace's shift in tone while Simon looked at him with a frown.
"What does that mean?" Simon asked quietly, as if he knew he wouldn't like the answer. "How did you accidentally become the guy piloting a ship halfway across the universe?"
There was a reason Grace hadn't told Rocky all the details, why he had so vehemently denied being brave to him until he realized he actually could be.
"More like," Grace hoped it wouldn't become a bigger thing than it was, and they could move on to the next subject. "Forcibly volunteered."
Grace forced, urgent question?! Rocky asked, immediately rolling closer.
"It's alright! It all worked out in the end, and we, hopefully, saved Earth if the beetles got there already," Grace said with false cheer, immediately backing up, holding his hands up awkwardly. "We should probably eat lunch-"
Simon leaned forward, the movement making his shirt's stretched collar slip further, his radiation burns revealed under the ship's light. "Angel," he said softly, "you don’t volunteer for suicide missions by accident."
Grace didn’t know what to say to that because Simon wasn’t wrong.
The silence stretched on, only broken by Rocky, who was pointedly looking up at him, yet not pushing.
"I was the only one who could do it." It worked out in the end, didn't it? Eva knew he could do it, believed in him (or forced herself to believe), and that's why she took the extreme measures she did. It was understandable, and he did it.
So.
"No one had the-the background. They didn't know how to handle the astrophage, and there wasn’t time-" Even as the words slipped out, his chest tightened because while his feelings with Eva were a complicated mess, he still didn’t want to speak badly of her. He had seen her as his friend.
Forced Grace to come when didn’t want to, not right, Rocky said, and seemed upset, which was the last thing the former science teacher wanted. How they force Grace, question! It was more of a demand, really.
"It's alright, I’m fine," He tried weakly to protest, even eyeing an escape route to avoid this conversation, but he froze seeing the expression on Simon's face.
The man stood up slowly. "Bullshit," The word came out sharp with concern. "You're telling me they just- what? Launched you into space like fucking cargo?"
It reminded Grace of the early days of when they met, when Simon was still distrustful of him and Rocky, how caged he seemed. However, unlike then, this reaction wasn't because of anything Grace did, but what was done to him. It shouldn't have made Grace emotional, but it did.
Grace reached out, pressing his palm to the nearest Xenonite panel, mostly for his own comfort as it was the closest way he and Rocky could show affection, and he could sense the alien was feeling protective. “It wasn’t like that,” He lied.
“Grace,” Simon said quietly, gently. “Please.”
The man took his glasses off and exhaled. Long and slow, to ease his racing heart and look at anything else.
“There was an accident. The original crew, the ones who were trained for it- they died. Astrophage explosion, so Eva- er, Eva Stratt was overseeing this project, and she had the authority to find a third person. Willingly or…” He couldn’t help but let out a snort. “It’s ironic. The papers I wrote made me an outcast, but then made me the most valuable idiot on the planet.”
…
“I tried to run,” Grace admitted quietly, shame building in his chest, but the words spilling. He kept looking away, not wanting to see the idealized version Simon had, his “Angel”, revealed to be a coward who ended up being the right choice in the end. “I didn’t even make it past the gate before they drugged me then I woke up here. I didn't remember it all at first, not really so..."
Grace had explained the induced coma, not sharing the how's but that it was the only reason he survived for years while the Earth became farther and farther away.
Grace never go back to Earth, Earth hurts Grace! Rocky nudged against his hand, his legs stomping while his ‘hands’ (finger nubs?) pressed against the panel. Rocky protects Grace, statement.
“You woke up alone,” Simon said slowly, expression darkening. “With two corpses.”
Grace’s jaw clenched, the familiar burning in his eyes. Waking up then and finding Yao and Ilyukhina, and seeing just how far away from the Earth he was made him have a breakdown.
Still, his jaw clenched. "That part wasn't their fault, they didn't... I had the AI, and later, Rocky. So-"
“They made you dig your own grave,” Simon countered, and Grace hadn’t realized he’d sunk to the ground on his knees until the other man was sitting in front of him. “And you still saved the world, saved Rocky, even when you knew you could never go back."
Grace still thinks about the last thing Carl said to him, mostly when he’s lost in his mind again.
“You’re ganna do great.”
The blonde blinked rapidly, realizing just how upset Rocky and Simon seemed to be on his behalf. Sure, as usual, those first days he’d cried about it before pulling himself together. When Rocky showed up, he became one of his best friends; it felt like a weight had lifted.
“I wasn’t alone,” He murmured again weakly, trying to reassure Simon. “I had Rocky.”
Yes! Rocky take Grace to Erid, meet mate, and stay, Rocky shook in his hamster ball, as if trying to press into Grace through the panel, which made him smile.
Simon exhaled sharply and reached across the space to grab at Grace’s other hand. His calloused hands were rough and warm, making the teacher freeze on the spot in shock at the touch. They hadn’t touched so directly beyond the necessary means- bandage changes, handing each other items, or the occasional shoulder bump- but now Simon’s thumb rubbed against him.
“That’s not the point,” Simon said, frustrated, struggling with his words as Grace looked at their intertwined hands and his face repeatedly, his face burning. Even Simon seemed to be flushing lightly, though whether in anger or something else, he couldn’t tell.
Rocky let out a high tune as if curious about what Simon was doing too, and thankfully snapped him out of his protective fog.
“She hurt you, drugged you, and shoved you in this metal coffin- no offense, Mary- and hoped you’d fix it or die trying out here alone. You remembered this later, and you still found a way to fix everything, even when you thought this was the end."
Grace’s breath hitched, slowly holding the other man’s hand back, not pulling away. “Didn’t have a choice.”
Gracr chose to save Earth, not forced help Rocky and save Erid, Rocky countered next.
“You chose to save the two worlds,” Simon agreed and looked at him directly, hand squeezing his. “That doesn’t sound like a man without choices.”
The warmth of his hand, of his fingers pressing down, and the way Simon looked at him almost reverently sent a shudder through him.
Rocky whistled a high tune and pressed more against the panel, the gentle weight grounding as Grace felt the texture of the xenonite and found it comforting. His vision blurred because he never expected to find not one but two people who genuinely cared about him now. Simon knew him for a month, yet he looked at Grace like he could actually see him.
“Hey,” Simon’s grip softened, and those fierce eyes, never-pitying eyes, looked at him. It was like he wanted to carve the loneliness out of Grace with his bare hands.
He tried to speak, to say anything, but then… ever so slowly, Simon pulled him closer. He pulled Grace into him, and the former science teacher broke. He couldn’t stop himself from hugging him back. He felt Rocky move behind him, as if trying to mimic a hug from behind, and he felt the weight of him gently pressing.
Grace’s forehead was pressed against the hollow of Simon’s throat, and he felt his pulse there- sharp just like him and alive.
"Fuck," Grace whispered, his voice breaking.
Simon and Rocky just held him as he cried for who knows how long. His chest heaving, and the feeling of fear, betrayal, anger, and most of all utter despair that the person he thought he had understood had hurt him the most. (Did she regret it? Did she care about him at all or had he just been useful?)
His glasses were horribly skewed, not that he cared, and when Simon separated their hands to pull him closer, he melted into him with little hesitation. The other man held him until only quiet sniffles remained, and he managed to stop the tears.
Rocky pressed closer, a warm and comforting feeling, followed by soft chirps and sounds he’d heard before whenever the alien would comfort him. It was something his kind used to soothe their children or close members of their pack.
Simon readjusted himself, and Grace instinctively held onto him tighter, clutching like he was afraid Simon might vanish if he let go, but the ex-convict practically pulled him into his lap, back still pressed against the panels.
Simon held Grace as his shoulders shook, the quiet hitches of his breathing muffled against Simon's collarbone. Rocky pressed closer against Grace’s back, his carapace warm and solid- a silent, steadfast presence. Grace’s fingers twisted into Simon’s shirt, clutching like he was afraid Simon might vanish if he let go.
“You didn’t deserve what happened to you either,” He sniffled, and he felt Simon stiffen, and he wasn’t about to let him argue. “Any of it.” He breathed against Simon’s neck, pressing deeper, his voice muffled. “You deserved a choice too.”
They were beyond whatever this was as he felt Simon press his lips to the top of Grace’s head, very quick but still a kiss that made his heart jump. “Never got many good choices. I was forced to make so many bad ones... if I had to pick? Killing that thing and ending up here with you, Ryland.”
Grace pulled back enough to look at him; his glasses had fallen off during his crying session, and his eyes were red-rimmed and searching, but all he found was genuine warmth. Simon meant it.
“I’d choose this every time,” Simon said as if sensing his doubt, and they stared at one another.
Grace couldn’t help but lean forward, forward, forward- he could feel Simon’s warm breath away, but he hesitated a single second, and Rocky, who had been quietly being used as a wall, shoved him forward, sending him right into the kiss.
It also unfortunately sent Grace toppling into Simon, who, normally, could hold his weight, but the kiss utterly surprised them both so deeply that it was the ex-convict's turn to look utterly flustered and wide-eyed as the blonde pinned him down.
Grace and Simon mates now, question? Took too long, humans dumb. Rocky said, absolutely clueless to what he’d just done- having attributed the close contact as a confirmation of sorts. Grace and Simon happy together, statement.
Grace was bright red, a choked sputter escaping him as he sat up, the realization of it all hitting him and what exactly Rocky was saying. “Oh my God, Rocky, wait-”
No wait! Rocky protect Grace and Simon protect Grace. Simon watch Grace sleep too, Rocky protested, and Simon flushed, confirming the incessant alien’s claim, making Grace even more of a mess. Luckily for them, the alien decided to “check” on the fuel cells to give them privacy.
"No, Rocky, we’re not- wait-" He tried to say until he felt Simon’s hand reaching for his own again, of which he obviously allowed, the contact addictive.
“What are we then?” Simon asked, not teasing, only asking and giving Grace the choice.
He knew Simon would always give him a choice, as would Rocky. He was determined not to cry again.
“We’re… I don’t know yet, but I don’t want to let go,” When Simon squeezed his hand back, he smiled and leaned into him again.
The ship’s ambient hum filled the silence a moment as they stared at one another, Simon’s half-smile returning, and the blonde had the impulsive thought of getting back into his lap before he shoved it back with a stick.
“Simon,” He murmured, trying to sound more confident than nervous as he stared deeply into those eyes. “Can I-”
Grace didn’t even need to finish as Simon’s eyes dropped to his mouth, then back up, before a small nod. He whispered, voice low, even tinged with nervousness. "Yeah, Angel. Please."
The kiss, especially for one Ryland Grace, is clumsy and desperate, and it’s perfect.
Sometime later, as they rest in their makeshift pillow fort in the main area, structurally sound courtesy of Rocky, they cuddled one another. It was as if a flip switched, and now they felt unable to pull apart.
“Hey,” Grace murmured, as they lay facing each other, still intertwined.
“Hey,” Simon said back, his thumb brushing Simon’s jaw.
“You know he’s going to ask a billion questions about this, right?” Grace said, already knowing Rocky full well that he’d ask how exactly humans mated. “He’ll ask about- ...well, you know.”
Simon stared at him with an expression that was a mix of uncomfortable horror.
“I am NOT explaining that to him,” Simon said finally, and they heard the alien, who was farther down the ship, let out a sound of protest. “And no, we won’t demonstrate anything either.”
Grace laughed so hard that the poor alien came up to see what was happening, and it was chaos from there, yet neither human minded, hands still holding tight.
They both knew the road ahead wouldn't be perfect, that they were both struggling with their own demons, but at the same time, it didn't seem as daunting.
Not when they all had each other.
Grace and Simon mates! Can meet Adrian and all become friends!
They would make a home together, far from Earth, and this time they would decide to leave the world behind.