Chapter Text
Then
Rocky settled down in his nest, not quite ready for sleep. He felt it steadily approaching, but he and Adrian saw each other so little in the rush of activity preparing for the Astrophage mission that they had made it part of their routine to stretch out the last moments before their dormant periods. Adrian sat next to him, one hand gently resting on the top of his carapace.
“It’s just not fair! We finally got to a point in our lives where we could easily raise a clutch, but now we don’t know if there will even be a future for them.” He knew he'd brought this up many times before, but this cycle's events had brought the frustration back up.
“Don’t think about it that way,” Adrian chided. “Scientists from all over are doing everything they can. And they wanted you on the team, beloved. Clearly they know what’s good for Erid.” They reach over with two of their hands to gently squeeze Rocky’s. “They better, considering how much of your time they’re taking from me.”
Rocky leaned onto his mate and hummed deeply, running one of his claws along the lines of their engravings.
"Adrian?"
"Yes, beloved?"
"Would it be selfish if I asked if we could start preparations before I leave?" he asked. "I've been thinking about which elements of our family crests would be prettiest together. And it would be good to decide where the eggs will incubate. And what their names will be, and what our names will be, and which family members they'll meet first, and if we need to add any rooms, and where they'll go to school, and-"
Adrian rumbled out an amused purr so loud it echoed through Rocky's carapace, silencing him. "Patience, Rocky. I would love to talk about titles and create our family's crest, but there is plenty of time for all of the rest later. You won't be gone long, anyway. Erid's best scientists and the universe's best engineer will be working hard to figure things out, and you'll be back in no time."
"You think too highly of me."
"Of you? No, I was talking about ♬♫♩♪. But you'll be very helpful too, I'm sure." Adrian's body shook with mirth as Rocky bumped against them indignantly.
"So mean to me," he mused. "Maybe it isn't a good idea to have children with you. Who knows how they'll end up." He squeezed one of Adrian's hands to lighten his words.
Adrian laughed again, sending a pleasant vibration down Rocky’s carapace. “We can only hope none of them are as bossy as you. But I’m willing to bet that you would lose, going up against your child.”
“As long as none of them guard resources like an animal,” Rocky teased back. “♬♪ has told me what it was like growing up with you.”
"They’re a liar, and you know it.”
"Their arm still has a noticeable chip to back up their story.”
“…They exaggerate. Besides, if I wasn’t so possessive of what’s mine, someone would have snatched you away,” they purred.
“You and I have very different memories of our advanced education days, my love.” Adrian ignored his words, instead nuzzling closer until their larger frame nearly tipped him over. He never minded. It reminded him of the early days of their courtship, when simply being around them and knowing how they felt made him feel like every cell in his colony was running in excited circles. He hoped that as the millennia passed on Erid that feeling would never fade. “Though it might be even worse if one of them ends up with my nerves and your impulsiveness.”
“Or they’re as oblivious as you,” Adrian added, amused, “and as arrogant as me.”
“I think it’ll be easy to love them however they end up, just because they’ll be part you.” Rocky could feel his brain shutting off as his sleep cycle began. Good. He liked the idea of that being the last thing Adrian heard from him before he went dormant.
“I wanted to be the one to say that,” he faintly heard his mate laugh, and everything stopped.