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Nervous chirps fill your ears as you look up from your book, sitting up in the xenonite chair of the small porch of the house Rocky and Adrian had kindly made for you and Grace. Suzy, as you had named the pink Eridian nurse you’d taken a liking to after she’d cared for you and Ryland when you’d arrived on Erid. “Hey, Suze… what’s going on?”
“Runt! Pebble is a runt!” Your brows furrow softly, eyes following the movement of her pink claws as she frantically moves in front of you.
“What do you mean? Is there a new litter?” Her carapace moves in a way that mimics a nod. “Why are you telling me?”
“Needs mother.”
“Oh…kay?”
“You should be mother.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… Why would I be the mother? I’m… human!”
“Eridians not have time for motherhood of runt. Human have time while Grace teach.”
“How often does this happen? Runts?”
“Every two hundred years. Statistic.” You nod slowly, thinking over your options.
“Can I get back to you? Talk to Grace after class and then give you an answer?”
“Need answer by end of sunlight cycle.” You nod.
“Come back to the house later this evening, alright?” The eridian purrs happily and nuzzles against your leg before walking off.
✶
“Do you want a baby?” Grace almost trips over the top step as he reaches the house, dropping his books and snapping his head up at you.
“I’m sorry?”
“I’ve been… offered a baby?” His brows furrow as he stands and fixes his glasses.
“Offered… a baby?” He looks at you over his frames.
“Suzy visited today, asking if I want the runt of the litter.”
“I mean… do you? Can we even… do that? It wouldn’t be able to survive in our atmosphere?”
“Mini zenonite suits?” His hands envelope yours as he looks down at you where you’re sitting.
“Are you being serious?” You burst into laughter, making him smile.
“I am! I swear! Suze should be by in a few hours for us to give her an answer.”
“Not a few hours! Here now!” The soft melodies of the alien ring out, making you smile.
“Hey, Suze!” Grace smiles, moving to sit, back against your knees as your fingers drift to his hair. “I’ve heard you’re trying to make us parents.”
“Runt pebble needs parents.”
“What happens if we say no?” You ask gently, feeling Ryland’s nod beneath your fingers.
“Runt die.” Both of you frown at the words, heart twisting uncomfortably.
“How are we supposed to feed it? Human babies need a lot of emotional connection, skin-to-skin contact.” You explain softly, watching the eridian purr and curl up in front of Grace.
“Pebble understand feeding. Born with ability. Not need skin-to-skin. Runt possible deformities, could possible survive in human atmosphere.” Grace’s brows furrow.
“You guys think it could survive in our atmosphere? Here in the dome?”
“Is possibility.” The eridian chirps gently.
“How are we going to get the food?”
“Deliveries.”
“Do you know anything else about it?”
“Human equivalent of male. Missing leg.”
“He’s missing a leg?” Grace muses gently, lifting a hand to grab and squeeze yours.
“Yes. Without help, we will die. Statement.” Grace looks up over his shoulder at you, and you give a shrug and soft smile.
“What do you think?” He muses.
“I think it could be fun. We can see if it’ll survive in the dome and then go from there. And we can’t just… let it die. We might as well try.” Grace nods, leaning in to kiss your forehead tenderly.
“Human say yes?” Suzy jumps up happily, jittering and making you grin.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Bring tomorrow morning! With food!”
✶
“You ready to be a mother?” His arms come around you as you make dinner, grinning softly and leaning against his warmth.
“I don’t see why not. She said this only happens every two hundred years. I don’t want him to die… I really hope it doesn’t when they get him in the atmosphere.”
“Got a name?” You pause for a long moment, stirring the food in the pot.
“Hmmm… Sebastian?”
“Sebastion? Really?” He snorts softly, making you laugh.
“Ken?”
“Like the doll?” Your laugh gets louder, making him smile and press a kiss to your cheek.
“Jacob?”
“Are we raising a frat eridian? Some kind of Playboy?” He muses, squeezing you tighter.
“Zimmer?” He pauses for a long moment, hooking his chin on your shoulder.
“I don’t… hate that.”
“Just alien enough for us? We can call him Zimm.”
“Zimmey? Zizi?” You giggle, turning the makeshift stove off.
“I like Zimmer.”
“If you like it, I like it.” He hums, making you turn to face him and press a long kiss against his lips.
“Dinner?”
“Please.”
✶
You stand beside Grace and watch as the small alien is delicately set in the box and pushed into the dome. You and Grace hold your breath for a long moment to see if the pebble starts to smoke, but as the second slowly passes, a grin breaks across your face as you approach the box and reach in to grab the purple creature.
Grace watches as the small alien shifts in your hold and makes a soft noise, probably equivalent to a babble, and shifts in your hands. “Hi, Zimmer.” You whisper.
“Is anomaly!” Rocky cheers happily as you nod.
“It seems that it is.”
“What’s the probability of that, hm?” Grace smiles, one of his hands meeting your hip.
“Probability is 0.0000000003–”
“I was being hyperbolic, Rock.” Grace grins, watching the pebble move happily in your hands.
“Need word.” Rocky hums, making you laugh.
“Later, Rock.” Grace grins, pulling you closer. You glance at him over your shoulder.
“We’re parents!” You giggle, making the small creature tilt its carapace in curiosity at the unfamiliar noise.
“We really are, hm?” He presses a kiss to your lips before pulling away and looking back at the pebble.
✶
You sit in the sand, watching as Zimm tries to climb around and explore his surroundings, clumsy with only four legs. Frustrated ‘babbles’ leave his carapace as you smile. “Tired?” The alien crawls into your awaiting palm with a content thrum. “You’re doing well, hm? Lots of practice.”
“How is pebble?” Adrian’s tones ring out behind you.
“Zimm’s doing great. Can I ask you something, Adrian?” The alien nods.
“Yes, ask please.”
“How do I know he’s tired? He can’t fully speak yet. I don’t know when he’s hungry or tired.” Adrian moves closer, the xenonite suit pressing against your arm as she observes the smaller alien.
“I will mimic noises.” You nod and listen closely as two melodic tunes leave the alien a few times, slowly nodding. The pebble mimics the noise of hunger, making your eyes snap towards the pebble.
“So that’s what you want…” You grin.
“Need food?” You nod softly. “Adrian can get.”
“You sure?”
“Adrian happy to help.”
“I think there are still some on the porch of the house.” Zimm curls up in your hold with a soft noise that makes you smile. “Adrian’s getting you some food.” You pout softly, gently petting a smooth part of the purple carapace.
It’d only been a few days, but you already couldn’t stomach the thought of ever leaving your baby behind. Sure, he was clumsy, and the language barrier was proving a struggle, but you could also tell the affection was reciprocated. A terribly unharmonious sound would escape the small creature anytime you left him alone or moved to a different room.
You watch as Adrian reuters, carrying the small xenonite bowl, filled with the necessary foods, Zimm happily chittering at the sight. You set him down to eat, smiling softly before looking back up at Adrian. “Adrian?” A noise leaves the alien for you to continue. “How codependent are Eridians?”
“Not very. Not raised with nourishment such as humans.” You nod slowly, watching Zimmer play with his food.
“Can you promise me something?”
“Eridians no promise.”
“You get what I mean.”
“Humans too absolute.” You can hear the ‘scoff’ in Adrian’s tone, making you snort.
“Promise you won’t experiment on Zimm. Sure, I’ll report back the things he does, but no taking him off to labs, doing tests–”
“Adrian understands. Promise will be upheld.” You nod, reaching out to gently tap the top of their carapace. Zimmer lets out a happy grumble to let you know they’re done before clambering back into your lap and twirling around before nestling against your hip, body slumping. “Pebble is ready for sleep.” You grin.
“I’ll watch him the whole time.” Adrian purrs happily, settling beside you in the sand, warmth radiating through the xenonite suit.
✶
“How's the baby?” Ryland asks, kicking his shoes off and immediately enveloping you in a tight hug. You grin, cupping his cheeks and planting a gentle kiss against his lips with an affectionate hum.
“He’s happy. At a big lunch today, and has been asleep ever since.” Grace looks over at the small xenonite ‘bed’ the eridians had made and dropped off, Zimmer’s purple carapace stark against the dark metal.
“Y’know… I never thought I’d be a parent… thought I had enough students to cover that… but I can’t say I hate this.” You shake your head, burying your forehead against the side of his neck and taking in his warmth. The sound of Grace’s voice makes Zimmer purr happily as he wakes, clumsily jumping up and rushing to happily greet Ryland. The jitters are like the noise of an excited dog as Ryands lifts the aliens to his face. “Hey, you!”
You grin as Zimm babbles happily, probably trying to talk about their day, watching as Ryland nods and gasps at certain parts for dramatic effect. “You were meant for this.” You murmur, making his eyes move to yours.
“What?”
“Fatherhood.”
“Even though it’s not quite traditional?” He grins, walking back over, making Zimm jump into your hold.
“This… is perfect.” You hum, his lips meeting your temple, Zimm’s vibrations strong in your palms.