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"Grace sure this is safe, question?"
"Just do it, Adrian."
"Okay. If Rocky mad, not taking blame."
A high pitched, girlish scream emanated from the dome as soon as Adrian finished speaking as Grace howled in pain.
"Jiminy Christmas!" Grace yelled, slapping a hand over his ear before Adrian moved it away, chastising him as they moved.
"No no no," they bickered. "Introduce bacteria before even in. Dumb dumb human. Stupid leaky space blob with stupid ideas."
"It's not my fault!" Grace argued. "You're supposed to tell me before you stick the darn needle through."
"Not properly conveyed."
"You think?"
Letting out a deep sigh, Grace felt Adrian slip the metal post through his ear as a burning pain hit his skin, clicking it closed with a shiny stud he'd asked them to make from stones he'd found in his dome. He'd never expected a piercing to hurt so much. Why did all of the kids in his classes love them so much?
"Is Grace going to scream for next three, question?" Adrian asked, looking at Grace and their work.
"Maybe," he muttered honestly, picking up a mirror and staring at the pretty azure stone, set in xenonite and shining softly against his skin - the color of the sky and a bit of his origin planet, his Earth, on him at all times, no matter how far away he was. "Let's just get them done," he whined, steeling his resolve as Adrian picked up another needle.
"Just remember, Grace ask for this," they reminded him as another three high pitched yells, not nearly as bad as the first one though, echoed on the dome and the walls of his house, causing Armando to ask Grace if needed medical assistance.
Why did he ever ask Adrian to do this?
~~~
Finally, finally all of his piercing were in. Two lobe piercings on each side with stones he'd picked and had Adrian make into earrings before getting their help with actually piercing his ears. It had taken some bribery in the form of human samples, but they'd eventually agreed under the promise that Rocky wouldn't know they helped.
A week beforehand, Grace had set himself to look around his dome for different stones he wanted to put in the piercings, settling on two different kinds: a vibrant cerulean one that reminded him of the sky on a clear summer day on Earth and one the was a deep maroon, reminiscent of the Petrova Line that led him here, that led him home to Rocky and Adrian and Erid.
They were perfect in his opinion.
"Grace happy with piercing, question?" Adrian asked, moving to get a better look at the jewelry with their echolocation.
"Yeah," Grace said, smiling and looking at them in the mirror. They looked like him, felt like him, through and through.
"Good," Adrian hummed. "Already in, cannot fix now. If Grace not happy, Grace need lower expectations."
Grace deadpanned at Adrian's comment, raising an eyebrow at them as they trilled and chirped, proud of their comment and their newest favorite Earthen word: sarcasm.
It wasn't very difficult for Grace to see how they and Rocky ended up being mates. They were two peas in a pod - both sarcastic and intelligent with a protective air about them for what they cared about.
"Okay. I leave now," Adrian said, preparing to leave Grace's house. "Rocky come over soon, no want face wrath for what I do to his leaky space blob."
"Yeah, yeah," Grace muttered, getting off of the couch, trying to ignore the burning sensation that was coming from his ears, now red and swollen. "Get on out of here before you have to face his wrath."
"That's the plan. Bye Grace!" They waved, shutting the door behind them, leaving Grace to pick up the mess in his house before Rocky came over.
It was routine by now, Rocky always came over everyday to visit Grace and to watch him sleep before heading out and repeating the next day, but Grace wasn't sure how he was going to clean up this mess before Rocky came over.
Needles, made from metal, not xenonite - Adrian knew how to cover their tracks - were strewn around the room with small specks of blood on them. That wasn't to mention the cleaning solution he'd had Adrian make for him to keep them clean, under the guise of needing it in case he injured himself, which Rocky would surely notice if he snooped, and the 4 studs that were now in his ears.
"Whatever," he murmured to himself.
Grace did his best to push the worries away. He'd wanted piercing since he was a kid, always finding them cool and interesting, but never having the confidence to do them himself. Now he was on Erid, where jewelry was called celebration clothing and after all he'd survived, why wouldn't he celebrate everyday?
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, kno-
"I'm coming!" Grace shouted, grabbing the trash he'd been cleaning and tossing it before he opened the door. "Hey Rocky!" He greeted, a big smile on his face at the sight of his friend.
"Hi Grace!" Rocky waved, letting himself in. "Saw Adrian leave. Grace okay, question?"
"Yeah. Just talked with them about human biology for a bit," Grace lied. "You know how interested they are in that. I had a bit of time so-"
"What in Grace ears, question?" Rocky cut him off, his voice low as he stared at Grace.
Shoot, Grace thought to himself.
"Oh, these?" Grace asked, pushing his hair back to expose them better. "They're called piercings. Basically, people on Earth like to put metal and jewelry in their ears like this for looks."
"How get in, question?" Rocky's asked, his voice remaining monotone.
"I,um… I pierced them, like the name says… with a needle."
Grace and Rocky remained silent for a moment, just staring at each other - one in fear and one in anger.
"Grace put more holes in Grace body, question?!?" Rocky began to berate him, stomping in frustration as he rambled. "Human weak blob with no protection! Make sense! Just give more damage and get sick more easy! All for look! No stupid at all," he drawled sarcastically, doing the Eridian equivalent of rolling his eyes.
"Come on, Rock," Grace began, hoping to placate his friend. "They're not that bad."
"No. Just put more hole in already leaky space blob," Rocky huffed.
It was clear that he was not happy about this and he was taking it worse than Grace expected. Grace had expected some push back, but not this kind of reaction.
"Really, Rock, it's okay," Grace assured. "People on Earth do it all the time."
"Earth stupid."
"And it's safe if you do it right. I did it right, I have all of the stuff to keep them clean while they heal and everything."
"Did Adrian help, question?"
"… What?"
"Did Adrian help, question?" Rocky repeated, tapping his foot impatiently, like a parent waiting for their child to fess up to something they already knew they did.
"No," Grace fibbed. "Adrian came over with a cleaning solution I asked them to make in case I got injured and we chatted for a moment, then they left."
"Grace lie," Rocky stated. "Grace heart go fast. Adrian help, go figure."
"Why do you have such an issue with it?" Grace asked, kneeling down to his level and cutting through the smoke and mirror argument they were having. "I know it's not just because it's stupid. Why is it bothering you so much?"
Rocky stayed silent for a moment, refusing to answer.
"Come on, buddy," Grace pleaded. "You can tell me. You know I'm not going to judge you for it and I can't help you unless you tell me."
Huffing out a sigh, Rocky responded, looking up at Grace.
"Rocky need keep Grace safe, keep Grace healthy. Hole in body no keep Grace safe or healthy. Worry Rocky," he muttered, not exactly willing to be open, but knowing that Grace would only keep pushing.
"Oh," Grace breathed out, sitting down on the floor in front of Rocky. "Oh, Rock."
"Rocky know is stupid."
"It's not stupid," Grace reassured him. "It's not. It just means you care. A lot. I'm sorry," Grace apologized, pulling Rocky into a hug as he waddled over to him. "I'm so sorry I worried you. I promise you that I'm okay. I'm happy and I'm healthy. That's actually why I did these," Grace explained, resting his chin on Rocky's carapace., careful to avoid his ears. "I've always wanted them, even on Earth, but I never got the chance to, so I figured that I might as well do it here since I'm doing well."
"So, piercing is sign Grace happy and healthy, question?" Rocky asked, pushing back from Grace slightly and tilting his carapace to the side in confusion.
"Yeah," Grace confirmed. "I got them now because I know that I'll be able to heal them okay."
"Piercing make Grace happy, question?"
"Very much so."
"Then piercing make Rocky happy. Rocky happy if Grace happy, always," he declared, pushing himself back into Grace's arms, wrapping two cobble legs around his friend. "If make difference, piercing look good on Grace. Fit very well."
"Thanks buddy."
~~~
"Grace close eyes!" Rocky demanded as Grace began to walk towards the door.
"Uh… why?" Grace asked, obeying as he shut his eyes and stood still in the entryway.
"Rocky have gift for Grace! Want be surprise!" He trilled happily, clicking his claws in excitement.
"Okay," Grace accepted, shrugging. "My eyes are shut."
Letting himself into the house, Rocky shut the door behind him and pressed a small xenonite container into Grace's hands, one that looked like what they had first used to contact each other at Tau Ceti.
"Can I open it?" Grace asked, opening his eyes and looking the container over, twisting it in his hands. "Or will I get blasted with ammonia again?"
"Is safe," Rocky chirped in anticipation. "Open open open!"
"Okay, okay. I'm opening it."
Twisting off the cap, happily not getting hit with the strong scent of ammonia, Grace titled it and let its contents fall into his palm: 2 small studs, 2 danging earrings, and a necklace.
"Oh," Grace breathed out, holding them up to look at them shine in the light. "They're beautiful."
The two studs were a light brown color, similar to Rocky's carapace color, while the other two looked like Adrian's, but they were dangling with beads instead of studs. The necklace was a mix of the two colors in an alternating pattern, matching the earrings perfectly.
"Is gift for Grace piercing!" Rocky trilled, clicking his claws in excitement. "Stone from Rocky home, stone from Adrian home. Grace home too, now Grace always know too."
Tears flooded into Grace's eyes as he slipped the necklace on, putting the earrings back into the container for safekeeping until he could safely change his earrings out. He was home with his family.
"Thank you," Grace sobbed out, wrapping Rocky in a tight hug. "Thank you."
"Of course," Rocky whispered back, nuzzling his carapace against Grace's chest, hearing the necklace tap against his xenonite suit. "Grace home, now Grace always carry home with too."