Work Text:
It wasn't easy to catch eridians off guard, as by nature of sensing the world through sound, everything that moved was seen, but as a certain mated couple had shown, it also wasn't rare.
More times than she could count, Phoebe could be stomping the whole house to get her attention and Monica would barely twitched from her stance. If it wasn't for the occasional movement to assemble a puzzle, or a squeak of excitement as she answered her homework, one would think the child asleep!
Grace had once referred to the phenomenon as "locking in". A slang in his homeland that described a certain state of mind of hyperfixation to certain tasks. Not rare but not exactly common either. Except among those like-minded, which Grace said was perfect for community in shared interests.
Phoebe might moan aloud the day her daughter finds five clones of herself she'll inevitably bring home, but she'll never deny the excitement the idea brought on.
Still, when she arrived home from her latest outing with Grace to find Monica constructing a miniature version of Hail Mary, the gentle rap of her closed claw besides the model was courtesy at this point. She didn't expect that the barely perceptibly touch for eridians, to say nothing of humans, would have her child snapping instantly to attention, her little model falling to the floor with a clang.
"Mama!" Monica sang. "How are you?"
Phoebe leaned back, a little baffled at the simple question. She knew perfectly well they hadn't made any plans this evening, and her ex-mate wasn't due to pick up Monica for a couple of days yet.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," she said slowly. "Everything alright?"
Monica nodded quickly, a human gestures picked up from Grace. "Yes, yes, of course!"
Having seemingly remembered her previous engagement, she shuffled around embarrassed a little before picking up the model. Being xenonite, it was thankfully intact but Monica still took the time to inspect it. Good girl.
"This is for Teacher Grace!" Monica rubbed at the side of the model, where it felt incomplete. "Here it will be connected to our ship, just like Teacher Grace and Savior Rocky described it! I still only understand a little about the 'dancing' part but it feels very beautiful in the movies! I can only theorized how it felt in space".
Phoebe hummed. "He will definitely like it". No exaggerating that one. Everyone picked up rather quickly that Grace loved receiving things from his students, regardless of what they were or their material worth. It made him incredibly happy to know his students did things thinking of him and all the children loved how happy Grace became with each gift.
Many eridians had been hesitant when the Alien's request to teach their young had been first shared. After all, they already had their own teachers and all information the alien could give could just as easily be found in the alien's computers. But some decided to at least give it a chance, in the name to observe how it went.
Needless to say, it'd been a success. Now there was a year competition to find out which new students could join the classes. Monica had been very lucky to be chosen as one of the first.
Said child hummed distractedly. "Hmm, I know". She continued to work on her project, slower this time, but seemingly unwilling to approach the true subject.
This was fine by Phoebe. She knew her child enough to know how till she cracks, and there's no such thing as rushing for eridians.
Except there was.
Monica did not —as Grace would put it— spill the beans. She'd hover anxiously on the side, fret on her model or even run into walls. It was honestly getting concerning, but Phoebe wasn't one to push.
At least, not by traditional methods.
"Oh my, what time is it?" She asked aloud, more than strictly necessary. Her tone was sweetly enough that her daughter would have heard the "danger alarms" from far away, but unfortunately for her, she was too distracted.
Once she gave the time, Phoebe stood up. "Hmmm, I see I see, so late already. That explains why I feel so...hungry."
Monica froze. Slowly, she placed the model down.
"Mama?"
"Hmmm, yes, yes. I think I need to...eat".
Monica started running. With a mocking roar, Phoebe gave chase.
It wasn't a secret that Phoebe was no traditional eridian, which made her no traditional parent. While generally well-liked, it was common knowledge she was an eccentric one. Very loud of her opinions, separated from her mate when matings for life were the general rule, respecting the other's need of privacy for eating but also feeling no shame to approach the subject when brought up. None of it bad or damning, just... peculiar.
Yes, that was the most common description. "Phoebe The Peculiar One". Not a bad trait, all things considered, and Phoebe definitely wasn't bothered by it.
Monica, by extension, also wasn't quite phased by certain taboos of eridian social life, but they were also at that age where they were exposed to a life different from theirs and were still picking and choosing the parts that best fit for their future.
So Monica might have picked a certain ick when discussing food, and Phoebe 100% took advantage of that.
Growling loudly, Phoebe continued the chase after her shrieking daughter, talking about all the nutrients she would take from her shell, how juicy and delicious she would be, and eating until nothing would be left. They dodge toys and scattered homework, nearly tripping over the model once and at one point scaling the walls.
Finally, Phoebe victoriously held her child high up with two arms.
"I have grabbed the little pebble! I shall smash you down and eat all your insides, maybe even give a little to my little beast babies for everyone to see!"
Monica wiggled and squirmed, using all five of her limbs to try to break free while she was overcome with giggles.
"Mama, mommy, stop, that's soooooo gross!"
Twirling in the air with her daughter still held high, Phoebe abruptly fell downward on top of their nest, clinging Monica close.
"On no," she moaned dramatically, clinging Monica a little tighter when she continued her wiggling. "I've eaten only half of this little pebble and I am already so full. I will fall asleep until next week, which means I have to keep my prey close so it doesn't escape!"
Monica's wheezing laughter echoed all over their home, highlighting in sharp detail all the surfaces.
"Mommy, you are so silly".
Phoebe gasped. "Me? Silly? Oh, what child I've helped create. Tell me, my treasure, if I am so silly, then what does that make of you, hmmm?"
"The smartest scientist!"
Unsurprising, if one was honest. Even before the salvation of their planet and the arrival of Savior Grace, Monica had already shown both keen interest in various scientific fields and a great promise in her skills once she started a career.
The only problem was choosing one. Even as a very small pebble, Monica had been overly ambitious. She wanted to try anything that interested her and everything interested her. It was one of the key points of issues between Phoebe and her ex-mate's separations, though she didn't know all the details yet.
Phoebe's exmate often expressed frustration over Monica's lack of focus or desire for a specific goal, always favoring multiple activities first. Perfectly normal behavior for a pebble her age and it would still be years before choosing a career became necessary. Phoebe saw no point to rushing; eridians rarely rushed anything.
But her ex-mate came from a particular traditional clutch. They believed in starting careers as early as possible in youth to start polishing the acquired skills, becoming professionals before the average eridian. It was overkill and places expectations on the children heavier than their atmosphere.
Phoebe had been aware of it when they mated, and it was something their ex-mate had promised wouldn't affect their children at all.
Of course, promises are mere speculation until lived in. After multiple failed clutches over the years, Monica had been the only survival of their last attempt. And when her brilliance started to vibrate through, things changed... slightly.
Phoebe sighed, huffing the bad memories away. This was a moment to cheer Monica up, not dwell in old history. Those years had been rough on them, but they came out fine. Distance was created, communication established and boundaries defined. Once the ugly hurdles had been passed, their ex-mate had proven to be good for taking care of Monica. Just not enough for Phoebe to consider a second chance.
As long as Monica was happy, everything was good.
Finally recognizing escaping was futile, Monica settled down. Phoebe absentmindedly caressed the top of carapace with the tip of her claws, feeling the puffs of hot air from the vents.
After so much raucous laughter and energy, the sudden calmness was strange but not unwelcomed. Not letting go even a little (which in turn made it very difficult), Phoebe was able to straighten their position, curling Monica closer more comfortably. Monica's favorite spot had always been wedged to the wall, with Phoebe cutting her off from the rest of the room. Once they were in position, Monica started purring. The vibrations travelled all way from Phoebe's limbs to her hearts, giving a lingering warmth, and she started purring in response too.
For a time, there were no aliens or classes, no weird classmates or persistent coworkers, no schedules to be made or ex-mates to avoid; just a quiet in the way a world of sounds carves peace, and they were okay.
A small trill broke off their bubble: the purring had stopped.
"Mother?"
If she had, as Grace had called them, eyebrows, she would have raised one.
Will she now say what's wrong?
"Yes, dearest?" She huffed playfully. "Back to mother, hmm? After going through 'mama' and 'mommy', I thought we were past formalities."
Monica pushed a claw at Phoebe (which had no effect whatsoever) and huffed in annoyance. "This is serious".
"Alright, alright, I'm listening."
Monica hesitated for a moment. "You and Teacher Grace are doing on the date right?"
There goes the second eyebrow, "My treasure, you were there when you made you suggestion and you clearly listened to my answer. Why ask for something you already have the answer for?"
"Yes, but Teacher Grace didn't say yes when I was there. Did he say yes?"
"He did," Monica replied. "In fact, he agreed to it just as I walked him home earlier."
Monica immediately relaxed, holding two claws together as she sank to the floor. "Good, good, it's okay now..."
Phoebe trolled in confusion. She was still missing something.
"My dearest, what is it?" Monica had always been a child full of life. Two kilograms of Astrophage barely covered a quarter of the energy Monica gave on a regular day, to say nothing of the attitude earlier in the classroom. Such a stark contrast to the fidgeting right before her, Phoebe couldn't help but fret.
And yet Monica's answer gave her all kinds of emotions.
"I really tried not to listen in. It's normally rude, and even more so when Teacher Grace is hearing impaired but I couldn't help it. He sounded so sad, mother. He said he wanted to be Savior Rocky's mate but Savior Rocky said no and he sounded so sad and made these noises that made me sad and Teacher Grace is the funniest teacher ever, no other teacher is as fun as him, he is so cool and fun, always says things we never thought of, but today he was so class during class, he tried to be as happy as usual but we could all tell he wasn't honest, his heart was a liar, Teacher Grace should always be happy, and in the human movies, love always makes them happy forever and ever, Savior Rocky already said no, but you could make them happy, you are very silly and cool, you'd say yes because he is cool, so I'd say double date to make everyone happy but he didn't seem happy, and he can be silly in a not fun wat when he doesn't sleep and maybe that's why he was unhappy, but I don't know and I don't like not knowing and I was scared he would say no."
The last notes of the song echoed away, allowing a small silence to fill the absence.
There was...a lot more of information that expected. More than one little detail begged to be revised for correction, but they could be left for later.
For now, there was one glaring detail that if she didn't address soon, she might actually lose it.
"So you set your teacher on me because you knew I'd be receptive..." A pause. "Monica, do you want Teacher Grace as your new parent?"
Steam burst from Monica's vents and limbs as the child sprang up straight, trembling violently.
"MAMA"
Phoebe burst up laughing.
It went on for so long, for every time Monica pushed at her in anger to make her stop, it'd only succeed on setting her off again.
In a feature of true madness, she laughed so hard for so long, she actually ran out of air, wheezing and choking until, finally, it was under control.
Monica had skittered away to the other side of their home at some point. Even though Phoebe could still perfectly see her, the child had made a point by finding s wall between them.
Giggles still escaped Phoebe as she settled beside it.
"My treasure. I think the double date is a wonderful idea. I wouldn't have agreed otherwise. You are a very good child and I never doubted for a moment that your intentions were for anything but for Teacher Grace's happiness. But you do not need to worry about such things. I like Teacher Grace greatly. Much like you, he is a kind, and gentle soil, very good, with too much information to organize well, though you'll get their eventually. I knew I would like him during our first meeting and have only been proven right since. He has suffered much these last couple of years; it still affects him today and I suspect it shall continue so for a long time. As things are now, even if you hadn't suggested anything, I still would have done something. He is a dear friend. You do not need to set me up with your teacher, my dearest. He is already family."
Slowly, whether hesitantly or predictably, Monica came around the corner. She didn't get close enough for Phoebe to grab her but that was fine.
"Teacher Grace...is already family.
"Of course, I think it'll take him a while to see it".
Monica tilted her head curiously. "Why?"
Phone thought of the disaster that awaited Grace regardless of the direction it took. Being in a codependent relation with an eridian who couldn't separate as different beings. Having a strain relation with said codependent's relation's mate's that couldn't decide whether Grace was enemy or victim, nonetheless controlling everything. A biodome that was with a safe place and a cage. A dependency on others' kindness and efforts for survive. A constant helplessness no matter where he looked, to the point he might see a helping hand as hiding strings until they were already tied.
There was no way to know exactly what Grace though of their friendship. Maybe he saw her intentions as they were, maybe he saw manipulation, maybe he saw nothing at all. It didn't entirely matter. As long as he didn't push her away, as long as she was welcomed because he wanted her there and not out of sense of obligation or fear, then they was good enough for now.
Phoebe trilled Monica closer and her daughter comfortable snuggled in her arms. "He is family. He has a lot going on back home and I know there is genuine love. But genuine love does not mean free of worries and provlems and I have a feeling he'll need a lot help moving forward. Will you also help me?"
Monica chirped, "Of course!"
Phoebe giggled, satisfied. "That's good. Tomorrow is another day, after all."