Chapter Text
In the year that Rocky and Grace have been traveling back to Erid, Rocky has learned something fascinating about how humans interpret and react to sound.
It started when Grace had, what he calls, a night terror. This is somehow different from the nightmares that he had originally explained to Rocky prior. Horrific, he thinks, how quickly the human mind betrays itself.
Grace had woken up screaming and thrashing, his heart pounding so loud it was all Rocky could make of him. It frightened him, not understanding how to help or even what was wrong. Typically, when Grace wakes from a nightmare, he is leaky and frightened, but easy to coax.
His night terror is different. He lost all rationality, not understanding where he was or who Rocky was in that moment. He kept screaming about how someone was murdering him, that he didn’t want to leave, that he needed to stay. It broke all five of Rocky’s hearts.
Nothing Rocky could say to his friend could calm him down, and so Rocky sang. It may have not been the wisest choice, but it was all Rocky knew to do. He sang of his love for Grace, of their friendship and his gratitude. It was not something he could put into words, but a feeling. Both a physical feeling, and one of deep emotion.
For a few seconds, Rocky was unsure if his desperate song would reach his friend. But as time went, Grace stopped screaming, and his heartbeat began to slow. Rocky doesn’t think Grace remembers this ever happening. He hadn't seem aware of himself throughout the whole ordeal, and went to sleep right after he finished his horrific fit.
It was a sight Rocky never wanted to see again. So, every 16 hours that Grace has to sleep, Rocky sings his lullaby.
He has refined it so it’s less desperate, and more intricate. It has been so long since he has composed a melody; his last being his parting song to Adrian. He missed them dearly. He missed this feeling of singing for someone.
“Rock,” He hears Grace mumble, on the verge of sleep. “‘S sad tonight.”
Rocky’s hearts sink. He hadn’t meant to let his homesickness infect Grace’s song. This is meant for him! This is their relationship. He moves a few millimeters closed to Grace, attempting to bridge any gap he could between their two bodies. He puts a claw out to him, and hears Grace lazily press his against it as well.
“Apologies.” Rocky starts, “Did not mean to be sad. Thinking about home. Want Grace to see Adrian.”
Grace hums a content little note. “I wanna see Adrian too.” It’s such a simple response, but it makes Rocky feel dizzy with joy. He settles himself down, tucking in his limbs, and continuing his song. It’s full of adoration, and sung in a higher tune that shows Rocky’s happiness on full display. Grace’s hand slowly falls back down, and that’s when Rocky knows he’s asleep.
It is much more difficult to achieve Grace meeting Adrian than anticipated. Mainly, Grace’s mood has plummeted since their short conversation. He has officially run out of his regular human food, which he had been desperately trying to ration out to eat in between meals of coma slurry. His taumoeba experiments are still an ongoing process, and Rocky can sense his friend's growing anxiety.
They both knew this day would come, but it does not soften the blow. Rocky does his best to be supportive and to offer feedback on Grace’s experiments. He will sit on his side of the lab and work on his own projects while Grace figures out his food supply. It is usually best to simply keep him company when he is so focused.
On this particular day, Grace is at his wits end. He rips out a piece of paper he had been writing on and throws it across the lab, which ends up hitting Rocky’s barrier. Rocky chirps, somewhat offended at the gesture.
“Grace, time for break.” He states. Grace runs a hand through his hair and lets out an agitated sigh.
“I can’t. I’m running out of food, and I’m wasting it with each failed taumoeba test making me barf my brains out.”
Rocky cringes at the idiom. “Disgust…”
“Yeah, disgust.” Grace finally looks over at him. At that point, the heat of Grace's anger cools ever so slightly. Rocky tries to not read too much into this.
“Grace no good when angry.” He says matter-of-factly. “Make stupid mistakes. Need to sit down, let Rocky fix.”
Grace grumbles at that, but he does sit down, so Rocky takes it as a win. “What can you fix, bud? There’s just not much here that you can help with. I mean, no offense.”
“Is fine. Rocky fix Grace. Sing new song! Make you feel good good good!” He declares, jutting his carapace out with pride. He has been working on a version of his lullaby to Grace that will not send him to sleep, but will calm him down through the day while he works.
He has experimented by humming parts of it at a lower frequency, just low enough that Grace’s ears can barely detect it. He has noticed that, if Grace is not too worked up, it is usually enough to prevent him from getting to that point. Grace’s moods shift rapidly now, however, and it is getting more and more difficult to wedge his song in between times of calm and anger. If Grace wants to solve his food supply problem, he needs a clear head.
Grace smiles slightly and raises an eyebrow at Rocky. His shoulders relax, and the tension wrapping around his body loosens. Rocky can’t help but wiggle with glee. Just the mere thought of Rocky’s song has helped calm Grace!
“Really? Well, I guess I could use a break then. Don’t want your efforts to go to waste.” He props his elbows on the lab table and lets his head rest in his hands. “Go on, I’m all ears.”
“Grace have two ears.” Rocky points out, which earns him an eye roll, but Grace is still smiling.
Rocky begins his song gently. He imagines the sights Grace shared with him of Earth. Of the plants, of the beach and birds flying above. How carefree Grace seemed when they pretended to fly around with them. His melodies consist of long, soft notes. He tries to capture the feeling of zero gravity to imitate flying, but grounds it with a hearty bass to replicate the pull of Earth’s gravity. These two opposite forces come together for a tune that Rocky can feel reverberate in his core, and projects out into Grace. The barrier muffles the effect slightly, so Rocky pushes harder. Not louder, not to hurt Grace’s ears, but to make him feel.
It seems to be working. He hears Grace let out a content sigh, and his shoulders fully sag with relaxation. His heartbeat slows, but Rocky will not let him sleep. He reaches out to Grace’s subconscious, he sings for him to stay awake and play in this space with him. Grace’s eyes flutter, but his consciousness stays. He lets out another sigh, and begins to hum along with Rocky.
All Rocky can feel now is Grace, and Grace him. They are orbiting each other in a liminal space, somewhere only they belong. Rocky is able to convey just how deeply he cares about Grace. His voice crescendos with his intensifying emotions. He needs to let Grace know, now that he has him here, just how much he loves him. How fond he is of his laugh and his human jokes and sayings, of how he likes to tap tap tap on the xenonite and snuggle close to steal Rocky’s warmth when it’s time for bed.
His song wraps Grace in his love and warmth like the quilt he clings to. He can feel Grace shudder due to the sheer force of Rocky’s emotions, but he continues to follow Rocky’s lead nonetheless. His version of the song is crude, but Rocky feels it reverberate in him with the same intensity that he is displaying for Grace.
Finally, for what seems like an eternity and no time at all, Rocky concludes his song. He gently releases Grace, and his humming stops. He just sits and listens to Rocky as he finishes his display of affection.
Rocky feels exhausted, having worked himself up far too much. But his adrenaline keeps him bouncing on his appendages. He has not been able to sing like this for someone in so, so long. He has missed the intimacy. Do humans experience such powerful emotions with each other?
He cannot tell. Grace is still slumped in his seat, his head still in his hand but Rocky fears he may just let himself fall onto the table. His heartbeat is still slow and even, and if Rocky didn’t know any better, he would think that Grace has fallen asleep on him.
But he couldn’t have, Rocky had made sure Grace would not fall asleep. Also, that would be very rude.
“Rocky done.” He announces, trying to hide the anxiety in his tone. The thinking machine would not pick up his tone, but he knows Grace’s ears have sharpened to his language over their time spent together. “Grace like…?” He asks, and twiddles two of his claws together.
“Mmm, feels really good.” Grace responds. He’s awake! Of course he is awake, Rocky knew this. He’s being the dumb one now, he chitters to himself.
“Good good good! Rocky make just for Grace. Help Grace relax.” He states, now that his ego is secure. Grace, however, does not reply.
Rocky waits a moment, and then a moment more. Grace still does not reply.
Now he is concerned.
“Grace okay, question? Not too much?” Rocky asks, and taps on the xenonite barrier to try and get a better understanding of what Grace is doing. He is sitting perfectly still, is what he's doing.
“‘M good. Feels really good, Rock.” Grace’s reply is delayed by three seconds, and his words are slurred together. He does not seem like he is present.
Now Rocky is very, very concerned.
“Rocky make Grace sick, question? Too much! Human brain could not handle.” Rocky scuttles around in his side of the barrier, freaking out at how he just broke his best friend.
How was he supposed to know that Grace could not handle his song! Grace has received Rocky’s lullaby with ease. Was this not just a more intense version of his song? Not even by a lot. He knew that Grace could not handle the full thrum of an Eridian ballad. He had been careful.
He goes through the compression chamber and into his ball to get a better look at Grace. His poor poor Grace…Perhaps his robot could assist them. Perhaps this is normal for humans, and he will be back to his normal self soon.
“Grace come with Rocky to Armando.” He commands his friend. Surprisingly, Grace obliges without any hesitance. He gets up, his movements slow but precise, and makes his way to the med bay. Very strange. Grace is very stubborn, he always throws a fit when Rocky tells him to see Armando. This makes him feel worse.
Grace does wait on Rocky to follow though. They keep the same pace, and once they arrive at the med bay, Grace stops. He has a dopey little smile on his face, and it freaks Rocky out.
“Grace sit, command.” And he sits on one of the beds.
Rocky pauses.
Grace does not do anything else.
“Weird! Grace is being weird weird weird!” He shrieks, and runs around frantically in his ball. “Grace not normal! Grace sick sick sick! Armando assist!” He panics, running into walls and stumbling over himself. He cannot take this. He cannot handle Grace being so obedient and silent. He is supposed to be loud and bratty! He is supposed to say stupid things and Rocky is supposed to tease. This is how they are.
Armando descends in front of Grace, looking up and down. Then, it points something in front of Grace, which makes him flinch slightly. Rocky assumes this is to test his vision, as it is not something he is able to observe.
“Dr. Grace is experiencing a h̶̜͌̃y̸̯͋p̸̺͕̐n̵͙̈́͐o̶̟̓t̷̨̽̚i̴̹̿͘c̸̡̏̈ ̶͕̤̐͑t̶̥̼̓r̵͙̽͑a̸͕̍n̴̬̰̓̌c̶̢̱͂ȅ̵͓̐.” Is Armando’s prognosis. Which seems to mean something, but Rocky does not have the vocabulary to comprehend.
“No understand last two words.” He states. Grace does not respond. This is getting to be very frustrating. He lets out a huff of steam through his vents
“Grace explain last words, question?” He asks more pointedly. This finally gets a response out of Grace.
“It’s an altered state of consciousness,” Grace explains at his lazy pace, “It puts someone in a mental state of deep relaxation, sharper focus and makes them more easily suggestable.”
Rocky huffs in frustration. “No understand! Grace relax and focus? Not like this when relax and focus.” He all but whines. Human brains are so stupid!
Grace’s brows furrow in deep concentration and he puts a hand up to his chin. It seems he’s doing his best to put a thought together, and Rocky can only hope he says something intelligent with all this effort.
“Just feels…Weird. Feels really good, but, I feel like mush.” He sighs and gives a half hearted shrug. “I dunno.”
Rocky wants to bang his head against the xenonite, but it would just launch him across the room.
“Grace too stupid to talk to.” He concludes. “Rocky will fix. Grace go sit in don’t-go-crazy room, command.”
Grace hops off his spot on the med bay bed. Rocky listens to him walk off to the don’t-go-crazy room as he was instructed, and then stops once he’s entered. He proceeds to do absolutely nothing. This, somehow, frustrates Rocky even further.
Rocky scuttles after him, muttering words he has not yet taught Grace, and not ones he would like anywas. Not like he would care!
“Grace sit, command. Watch television show. Take break.”
Grace does so, grabbing his portable thinking machine to pull up a show, and then pauses. “What do I watch..?” He asks, sounding completely lost.
“Rocky have to do everything…” He mutters, but he can feel Grace looking at him with a pathetic desperation that prevents him from being angry. He deflates, and moves over to Grace’s side. He tucks in his legs and loafs so he can watch along.
“Favorite show.” Rocky says. “Show that makes Grace happy.”
Grace smiles, and opens up the first show that he and Rocky watched together. He turns on Star Trek. It’s projected onto a larger screen that encases the room, and Grace puts his arms behind himself to support his body weight, and leans back to watch the show. His legs are spread out, and he’s kicking his feet together, having the time of his life.
Rocky realizes that Grace has not been this relaxed in a long, long time. He has missed this Grace.
He laughs so easily now, at the jokes on the screen, and it seems so genuine despite his debilitating state. Is this something humans enjoy? Is this something he should take away from Grace? Perhaps it will go away on its own, and they can enjoy the time he is relaxed and happy together.
“Grace having fun, question?” His voice sounds small, even to him.
“I’m having fun, Rock!” He replies in earnest. “Are you? I know we’ve watched this episode before.
Oh! This is the most Grace has spoken at once. This is progress. “Rocky having fun! Happy Grace is happy.” Grace lets out a content hum, and turns his focus back to the screen.
Rocky fidgets in his spot. “Grace want to stay like this, question?”
“Stay like what?” He asks in turn, not looking away from the screen.
“Relax and focus. Listen to Rocky and obey. Only for little while, only so Grace can be happy.” Another pause. “Would that make Grace happy?”
Grace takes a moment to reply again, his brows furrowing and frowning somewhat. He still doesn’t look at Rocky. He doesn’t know if it’s hard for Grace to have this conversation, or if his mind is simply split between the two tasks given to him.
“Well, I guess I’m happy right now,” he begins, “But I’ll do anything you want, Rock. Anything you say will make me happy.” Grace turns his head to Rocky now. “What do you want to do?”
It’s such a non-answer, but of course it is. The only one of them who can make decisions right now is Rocky, after all. Rocky has completely bent Grace to his will, all on accident. He knew that the full effects of an Eridian song would be too much for his human brain. Even holding back as much as he could, he still ended up messing with Grace’s mind.
He supposes he can make it up to his best friend, then.
“Rocky will make sure Grace has a good day.” He declares, and stands up, stretching up his legs to hold himself high. “Grace will have fun fun fun and not worry about taumoeba for today. Not worry about food or ship. Just have fun with Rocky.”
“I’ll just have fun with you.” Grace affirms, sitting a little straighter now. It’s as if the command physically went inside of him.
“What Grace do to have fun, question?” There are plenty of things Rocky can think of that are fun that they do, but he wanted to know Grace’s unfiltered thoughts. It’s very rare that he’s ever able to.
“Well…I think watching shows with you is fun, for one.” He replies, the words coming out easier than before. He sounds more present. More like Grace. “And I like it when I read books out loud to you when we lay down, I guess that’s pretty fun. Karaoke is pretty fun too, I kinda suck at it though.” He chuckles. “I think it’s fun when we wrestle. It’s fun when you tease me too, and we start bickering for no reason.”
Oh, Rocky did not expect that last one. He did, but it was still a surprise for Grace to speak of it so candidly. He loves it when they talk around each other for hours. He likes it when Grace calls him silly references or gets huffy with him over a comeback Rocky hits him with. It is fun.
“Agreed. All of these things are fun. Which one does Grace want to do, question? Rocky like karaoke.”
“Let’s do karaoke!” Grace practically beams.
Yeah, maybe he did that one on purpose.
Grace opens up the karaoke program and they flip through songs to sing together. “Do not worry about being bad.” Rocky commands. “Just have fun fun fun. Be loud!”
Grace settles for a song titled Barbie Girl, singing the part of the Barbie girl. It is a very silly song, but Rocky adores it. Grace is boisterous and rowdy, jumping around and screaming more than singing the lyrics. He laughs at parts and it’s so infectious that Rocky laughs along with him.
This continues with the songs Telephone, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, and they end it off with Baby One More Time, which Grace tells him is an incredibly important part of humanity’s pop culture.
Halfway through their fourth song is when Grace’s energy begins to leave him. He’s leaking and not jumping anymore. His voice a little rougher but not in an unpleasant way. He still has a wide smile on his face, but he simply does not have the energy that he used to early in their journey. He survives off of pitiful rations, and Rocky fears he has overindulged.
When they finish the song, Rocky declares that they are done. “Grace need break.” He says simply.
Grace is panting and wipes his face with his shirt. “I need a break from taking a break?” He chuckles.
“Correct. You are gross and leaky. Need to rest. Hungry, question?” He doesn’t really need to ask, however, as he can hear the complaints his stomach makes very clearly.
“I mean, I dunno I guess…” Is the lack luster reply he is given. Grace avoids eye contact with Rocky now, and rubs at his arm. Clearly there is an issue. Rocky can probably guess.
“Not want to eat slurry.” He theorizes, and Grace nods his head.
“Yeah, I’m still not used to it, I guess. I wish I still had some of those burritos left. I thought I was getting sick of them but I’d take eating the same burrito for the rest of me life than sucking down coma slurry for another second.” He tries to laugh but Rocky does not hear any humor in it.
Rocky thinks for a moment. If Grace is in such a suggestible state, then is it possible to completely alter his perception of reality? Perhaps he could try to make Grace’s rations more palatable.
“Grace prepare slurry, but no eat yet. Going to do experiment.”
Grace raises an eyebrow, but because he cannot do anything contrary, he obeys Rocky’s command once more.
Rocky has already run back over to the dormitory area and is waiting impatiently when Grace arrives. He is still leaking, and breath is still somewhat labored.
“Mary, water for Grace!” Rocky chirps, and water is brought down into Grace’s hands. He drinks it without the command. “Thanks!” Grace gives Rocky a big, cheesy grin, and if Rocky had even a sliver less willpower, he would be running around all over the room.
“Yes, yes, Rocky know you need more fluid to stop your leak. Very easy to understand.” He says, note sof sarcasm laid on thick, which makes Grace laugh.
Grace then asks for the coma slurry, and receives another water and a pouch of powder. He combines the two, and then waits for further instruction.
“What Grace favorite food, question?” Rocky first asks.
Grace puts a finger to his chin in contemplation. “I don’t think I really had one back on Earth. I’ve been missing burgers like crazy, though.”
Rocky knows what a burger is, they have watched enough human entertainment for him to know. He does not understand, however, what is so appealing by multiple foods being combined into one, sloppy, leaky mess. It’s appalling. The way it is eaten is even more disgusting than most other foods. But Grace likes it, so he will get it.
“Grace. Your slurry is now burger.” Rocky tells him and points his front arm at the cup. Grace blinks a few times, and then laughs. He laughs a lot harder than Rocky would have liked. He squirms in his own carapace from the embarrassment and his vents huff out the extra heat building inside of him.
“Rock, that’s definitely not how that works.” Grace tells him, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Rocky not know!" Rocky stomps an arm. "Grace obey commands. Grace do whatever Rocky want. Why not eat burger, question?”
Grace stops laughing long enough to answer his question.
“Maybe the trance isn’t deep enough? Like, I kinda know what you’re doing to me, which is why it works. I guess I kinda want it?” Grace shrugs, and Rocky can hear the blood rush to his cheeks. Now Rocky isn’t the only one embarrassed. “Hypnotists usually give their suggestions when the person is deeper in the trance, instead of when they’re already acting on the commands.”
“Understand.” Rocky replies, and then, “Will make Grace have deeper trance.”
“Now hold on—”
But before Grace can complete his objection, Rocky has started his song once more. He tries to focus more intently on the vibrations that went beyond Grace’s hearing; focusing more on his sense of touch. He reaches towards Grace’s brain, in which Grace let out a small gasp. Rocky eases up, and then he feels Grace’s body sag in contentment.
“Grace hear Rocky, question?” He asks through his melody. Grace hums a response. He sounds like he’s about to fall asleep, but once again Rocky will not let him.
“Good good good. Grace will listen to Rocky. Understand?”
“Understand.” Grace slurs.
“Grace is going to think coma slurry is delicious burger. Going to eat and be happy happy happy. Understand, question?”
“Understand.”
Rocky gently releases Grace from his grip. He acts in the same way he did when he first came out of Rocky’s grasp. He’s stupid again, and has that dopey smile on his face. It makes Rocky squirm. He wants to roll over to Grace and squeeze him, as hard as he can. It’s getting harder to control these urges.
“Grace hear Rocky, question? Feel good?”
“Mmhm, I hear ya Rock. I’m feelin’ good.” Grace replies. He rubs his eyes, which makes his glasses fall off one of his ears and sit at an odd angle. It’s so perfectly him, that Rocky let’s it be. “What were we just doing?”
Good, he’s not totally stupid like last time. He only got a small portion of what Rocky sang to him previously, after all, so it makes sense he would have an easier time coming out of it.
“Grace eating!” Rocky declares, his pitch a little higher with delight. If their hypothesis is correct, then Grace will finally be happy eating.
Grace looks down at the coma slurry in front of him, and his eyebrows shoot up higher than Rocky ever thought possible. He takes a step back in his shock.
“Wh—Rocky there’s no way! There’s no way we have burgers on the ship!” It worked! It worked it worked it worked! Rocky cannot stop his joy from overflowing. He runs around in a little circle, chirping as he does.
“Yes yes yes! Grace eat real food! Grace feel good! Grace happy happy happy!”
Witnessing his brain and his body try to coordinate with eating this is…interesting. Grace picks up the drink with both hands, as if holding onto a burger. He opens his mouth wide, as if to take a large bite, but once he gets to the cup, he lifts it and drinks it properly. Very strange. A little disturbing. Rocky is doing his best to not be completely disgusted. A shudder runs down through him though. Whatever to keep his friend happy, he supposes.
The most unexpected part, however, is that Grace begins to cry as he consumes his meal. The tears are large and fall off in pools. He still eats with gusto, trying to savor every last bit. His heartbeat has elevated, and his body shakes where he stands.
“Why Grace sad?” Rocky asks, panic immediately hitting him. “Grace not like burger?”
Grace sets his now empty cup down and shakes his head. “No, no it was great, bud. I really loved it. I..I can’t believe we had something like this, I…” He tries his best to wipe away the tears still falling down his face, but they do not stop. Grace sags down onto the ground and pulls up his knees. He wraps his arms around himself and hides his head.
Rocky lets out a worried squeak, and runs over to Grace’s side. This was not supposed to be happening. Why is he not happy? This was supposed to be a good moment, but Rocky messed it all up. He broke Grace again.
“Apology apology apology! Rocky fix, Rocky make sure Grace happy!” Rocky bows his front two legs in an effort to show his regret, even though Grace is not looking and cannot sense this.
Grace does lift his head though, and violently shakes it this time, his eyes shut tight. His glasses are completely off his face now, seeming to have dropped into his lap.
“I’m happy! I’m really, really happy, Rocky. It was amazing. I haven’t had real food in months. It just…I was just so happy.” He sniffles and wipes away at his tears again. “It was so much. I’ve just been wanting one good thing to eat for so long…I didn’t think I would ever eat real food again.”
This breaks Rocky’s hearts. He lays himself down fully next to his friend, trying to scoot as close as he can. Grace leans against the ball of xenonite and sighs.
“I don’t know how you got it, but thank you, Rock. Seriously.” There is a genuine smile on Grace’s face, not as big as his others. His lips tremble and his tears still pool down his face, but Rocky can sense just how grateful he truly is.
Is this wrong? To deceive him like this? Will he know once he is fully himself again, and will he be upset it wasn’t a real burger like he thought? Should Rocky command him to forget? Or to continue believing his lies after he is out of his trance? He doesn’t know. He feels terrible.
They sit there for a few minutes longer while Grace cries himself out. He hiccups and sobs and reassures Rocky that he’s really fine, truly he’s great. Rocky doesn’t believe him. They’re pressed as close as they can be, and Rocky coos at him to try and comfort him.
After a few minutes longer, Grace stops crying, and only occassionally sniffles. They sit in silence like this. Grace is using the hand pressed onto the xenonite to draw little cirlces onto it. Rocky has learned this is a subconscious motion, one to bring comfort. They sit in the silence that's settled into the Hail Mary.
While uncomfortable on Rocky’s end, his guilt weighing him down, it looks like Grace is finally content. His eyes are closed and eyebrows relaxed. His breathing is even and he even has a small smile. It seems like Grace has just about cried himself to sleep.
“Grace, question?"
“Yeah Rock.” Grace lets out a happy sigh.
“What other things do you want? Things Rocky can get.”
Grace’s eyes flutter open, and he angles his head down slightly to get a better look at him. He gives Rocky the gentlest smile, one that makes his eyes crinkle. Rocky can hear Grace's heart stutter for just a moment, and the blood rush to his cheeks.
"I really want to hug you," He starts, his voice still hoarse from earlier. "I want to be wrapped up in all five of your arms and I want to feel safe and loved." Tears well up and threaten to spill, there's a strain in his voice that is not from his earlier singing. "I just want to be with you, Rock. I'm so tired all the time. I feel like I'm barely here. I know it's just going to get worse, too, when I'm just living off taumoeba."
"We fix," The words rush out of Rocky. "We fix and Grace will not be tired. Will have more fun. Grace and Rocky always be together." He assures his leaky human, who is wiping away the stray tears that escaped him. "Will make a suit for hug."
"Yeah?" Grace lets out a small, wet chuckle. "That'd be good."
"Very good. Rocky also need hug."
"I thought Eridians didn't really hug."
"No, Eridians do not. Rocky does."
This earns him a louder laugh. It makes his stomach flop around in a strange little number, but one that's familiar to him.
"Okay, Grace does too. We'll get our snuggle time in."
"Yes yes! Lot's of snuggles! Watch more Earth movies and snuggle in bed!" Rocky chirps and wiggles around where he sits. Grace pets the side of his ball and hums. Rocky leans into where Grace's hand pets as much as he can. He tries to image how it would feel. He remembers just how soft Grace is, and how that sensation would feel up near his vents. Despite himself, he begins to purr.
Grace hesitates at this, which gives Rocky pause as well. He feels too hot again.
"Apologies." Rocky murmers. "Happy."
Grace giggles and continues his petting. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you self conscious," he replies, "I've just never heard you purr like that before."
Rocky hums a small little tune. "Only for when very happy. Very relaxed. Been long long since feeling that."
"Yeah, same." Is all Grace says petting him again, and then Rocky's purring starts back up, and they sit.
Rocky does not know how much time has passed when he comes to. Grace is asleep next to him, his hand still pressed against the xenonite ball. Rocky lifts a claw to place up next to it. Despite all of their time on the Hail Mary, he cannot think of a single time in which he and Grace had fallen asleep at the same time. They are always on shifts, that is the Eridian way. This new way is nice too, if not more than a little vulnerable.
"Grace," he purrs, "Need to wake up. Back will hurt."
"Noooooo," Grace whines, half lucid. "Like, five more minutes, kay?" He does a pathetic little stretch and then curls back into the ball.
"Grace save five minutes, then take two hours." Rocky grumbles. "Grace only gets five minutes."
Grace's breathins has already even backed out, and he snores ever so lightly. Is it possible to feel nauseous in a good way?
Maybe he lets Grace sleep a little longer than his alloted five minutes. It gives Rocky time to think.
There is still a lingering guilt that he feels for making Grace have fun, instead of letting him come to Rocky with his own intent. Still, Grace did not know what was good for him right now. As he had said himself, he was always tired, never fully present. The lack of food makes his mood horrible, and it breaks Rocky's hearts. He wanted to give Grace the gift of song, but he hopes that he had provided something more to him.
They can talk about it when Grace wakes up, he suposes. Now that he is being defiantly sleepy, Rocky assumes that his trance has worn off. If this is to be a one time thing, then so be it. Rocky will respect Grace's wishes. For now, he begins to hum a tune that will be more respectful of the human's weak mind.
He tries to keep himself low and quiet, as to not disturb Grace, but it wakes him anyways.
Grace does his little stretch again and lets out a big yawn. It should be gross, but Rocky has come to adore it.
"Grace awake, question?" Rocky asks and stops his humming.
"Mmmm yup. Yeah, I'm awake now." Grace lets out another big yawn and then wraps himself around Rocky's ball in a big embrace. Rocky leans into Grace's touch, and begins to draft ideas in his mind of how to make a suit where they can feel each other without harming the other.
"Have a good day, question?" He shrinks just a little, worried that he's about to get a talking to.
"You know, some parts are kinda hazy." Grace confeses, and lets go of the ball to run a hand through his hair, as if that would help him recall more. "I know you sang to me. And then we sang a crap ton of karaoke. And then I had…a hamburger?" His nose crinkles, Rocky can almost see the logical part of Grace's brain fighting with the distorted memory. "And then we ended up a mess on the ground."
"Yes, pretty much." Rocky gives his version of a shrug.
Grace sighs, and not the happy ones he's been giving Rocky. No, this one is the 'we need to talk' variety. Rocky feels the nervous kind of nauseous.
"I don't think you meant to," Grace begins, "but we need to have some rules about hypnotizing me."
"Apology. Rocky not intend. But Grace have fun, not see happy in long long long time. Wanted Grace to be happy."
That gets him a sad little smile, and another pat on the xenonite. "I know. I'm not mad, promise. I did have a lot of fun! Shoot, we haven't messed around like that in months." He chuckles, just a little. It sounds sad.
"But you can't do that without me saying it's okay." Grace pokes a finger at him. "Undestand?"
"Understand." Rocky affirms. He fidgets a little in his spot. "Rocky make new song for Grace. Not make Grace stupid."
"Okay, well I wasn't stupid. I could still do stuff."
Now it's Rocky's turn to laugh. "Lie! Grace stupid stupid stupid. Could only 'feel good Rocky' and wobble. Funny stupid Grace!"
Grace blushes again, more blood rushing to his cheeks than Rocky has seen before. "Whatever! You try being hyppnotized! See how much you can do."
"Mmm, Eridians do not hypnotize. Too smart."
Grace huffs and bonks his head on the xenonite. He's pouting. Rocky laughs again.
"Grace like, question? Grace say rules for next time. When is next time, question?"
"Oh, god." Grace's head slides down the ball and he hides it in his hands. "Not for a long time, pal. I'm worn out."
"But Grace like?"
"…Yeah. I liked it." Grace mumbles, barely audible. But Rocky's hearing is fantastic.
"Rocky make new suit! Grace and Rocky hug and make Grace dance and sing Brittany Spears again!"
Grace groans and shrinks into himself. Rocky laughs and laughs and laughs.