Work Text:
May 27
It happened so slowly, so gradually, that Grace didn't even realize until Simon let out a sudden pained whine.
Grace instantly jolted, jerking away his hand that he'd gently splayed over Simon's stomach. Simon, in the same moment, flinched at the sound he himself had made, obviously unintentionally. "Sorry," both apologized at the same time, Grace huffing out a laugh as they interrupted each other. He sat up next to Simon, a frown quickly replacing his bemused smile as he stared down into slightly panicked chocolate eyes; that sound had really felt like Simon was in pain.
They had been laying peacefully in bed only a moment before, Simon holding a book above him and reading half-liddedly, and Grace typing away at a lesson plan on his computer until, finally, the words started to literally blur together and he decided it was probably time for bed. He had let out a contented sigh, set his laptop on the side table, flung his glasses somewhere or another, and dropped face-down next to Simon, flopping his hand onto the others stomach. That's when Simon had suddenly flinched and let out the sound like a kicked puppy that made Grace's heart leap painfully.
"Did I hurt you?" Grace frantically asked the man below him refusing to meet his gaze. “I thought I was being gentle, I’m so sorry!
Simon huffed, face reddening in what seemed like genuine shame. It made something angry spark in Grace’s bones. “S'fine. You were gentle, I was just being a pussy."
Grace’s brows furrowed in concern, not at least at the name-calling. “Are you sure? It really sounded like you were in pain…”
Simon finally seemed to force himself to meet Grace’s gaze and gave a tight smile. “I’m fine. Really.”
Alarm bells sounded in the back of Grace’s mind, but he ignored them. He should trust Simon, right? He and Simon had been living together for… Gosh, coming up on a year now. It had been a long, rough road, but Simon had slowly grown to trust Grace. They had actually gotten really close! (Really, really close.) Grace thought Simon would be comfortable enough to tell him just about anything by now, so he should definitely just trust him, right?
Grace decided to just smile as sweetly and as genuinely as he could. “Alright… well, I'll just avoid your stomach tonight if it’s sensitive.”
Simon seemed to let out a breath he’d been holding and finally, finally smiled a real, grateful smile back. “Thank you, Ryland.”
Grace hid his blush by dropping down onto the sheets again, this time on his back. Although, as he settled the covers over themselves, he shuffled his hand around until it bumped Simon’s and then tangled their fingers together gently.
Grace turned his head toward the other man questioningly, but, to Grace's delight, Simon hummed peacefully and squeezed Grace’s hand in answer.
Grace smiled again and returned the gesture, then blissfully closed his eyes…
Until he woke up to Simon screaming.
Simon was an hour into a documentary about whales on Ryland's laptop (their songs were extremely similar to Eridian's, weirdly), settled comfortably on their couch, when his stomach finally let out a certainly audible growl. (Simon might've even classified it as a roar.) He sighed, looking longingly toward the kitchen as if he could will the food to him. Unfortunately, no— Ryland would still be gone at work for a couple of hours.
He never would have guessed it when he first arrived on Erid, but over the last couple of months he had finally grown bold enough to dare to take food whenever he wanted. So, with a groan of annoyance and, obviously, never pausing the movie, Simon rose.
That was when the whole world tilted.
He gripped the arm of the couch and gritted his teeth as he squeezed his eyes as tight as possible, willing away with every fiber of his being the intense vertigo that suddenly seized his senses. It rolled through him and up his throat, but Simon just clenched his jaw harder, daring anything to come up and ruin Ryland's beautiful carpet. He stood there for what seemed like an hour, legs feeling like they may just suddenly give out beneath him as he pounded the feeling down, down, down until it settled to a mere queasiness in the furthest part of his gut.
Simon finally sighed and released his grip on the couch, opening his eyes and mouth, too. I probably just waited too long to eat, he reasoned. Ryland had told him that sometimes he'd get dizzy if he waited too long, but since food had been scare Simon's whole life he'd never had that problem before. God, I'm getting soft.
Nonetheless, Simon made his way to the kitchen, trying very hard to ignore that the floor felt like it was on a slant.
He only bumped into a wall twice.
Simon's scream instantly jolted Grace upright, throwing him out of sleep as a bolt of adrenaline speared straight though the center of his chest. He whipped to the man beside him—
Who was writhing in agony in a fetal position facing away from him. Grace let out a horrified gasp. "Simon!" He leapt out of bed to rush to the other side and was greeted with a picture that made him choke on his breath.
Simon's hands were shivering like there was snow in the room, hovering over his stomach and chest like he wanted to grip them but not being able to for the pain that would inevitably inflict. His knees were drawn up to protect his stomach, too, and his face, angled down, was dripping with sweat that plastered dark waves to his forehead. His brows and lips were drawn in equal parts agony, and he grit his teeth as he tried and failed to stifle another scream that ripped itself from his raw throat.
Grace whimpered and stumbled back in pure horror, only saved by falling over by the wall that was so close to Simon's side of the bed. He thudded against it and instantly pressed his hands behind him into the firm surface, taking a moment to slow his shaking breath and ground himself. He only allowed himself a couple of seconds, though, before he stepped again to the man's side. "S-Simon?" He whispered hoarsely to the shivering form. He didn't respond.
Grace's hands hovered over him, completely unsure what to do, before eventually landing on his shoulder. Finally Grace got a reaction as Simon's eyes flitted hazily to Grace before shutting tightly as a tear dripped down his cheek. Grace nearly choked again.
"D-don't worry, moonlight, it's gonna be okay, I promise," he stuttered, already stumbling back over to his side of the bed, ripping open the drawer in his bedside table and snatching out the emergency communicator Rocky had made him. "You're gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine," he hiccuped, hands shaking violently as he tapped Rocky's contact. "You're gonna be fine."
He didn't know who he was comforting anymore.