Chapter Text
Adrian had been conflicted about the leaky space blob his mate had brought back from his mission to the stars.
On one claw it helped his mate to save the stars.
On the other claw, it was mostly comatose since the two saviors of the universe had come back. It didn’t seem to be useful at all.
On the other other claw, if what his mate said was true (and his mate would never lie to Adrian), it was the only reason why his mate was even with him right now.
On the other other other claw, with its health being as bad as it was, Adrian almost never saw his mate nowadays.
His beautiful, caring, strong mate was never really far from his new friend. Always watching over his comatose sleep, spending his days singing in a low voice for a creature who couldn’t even appreciate his wonderful melodies. And when he wasn’t glued to its side, he was talking with all the top scientists on Erid to oversee all developments with the taumoeba, the brainstorming about a permanent housing situation for the human, and the progress of the nutritional team that tried their best to synthesize food that met all the needs of the human.
His mate had been back on Erid for a month, but to Adrian, it almost felt like he hadn't come back at all. He hadn’t even spent one night in their nest, choosing to spend his night on board the Hail Mary instead. If Adrian wanted to spend time with his mate, he’d always have to seek Rocky out first.
~~~
That’s how Adrian found himself once again on board the Hail Mary.
He easily followed his beloved’s singing to the nest of the human. Where else would he be?
Rocky stopped his singing the moment he felt Adrian step into the room.
"Adrian mate, my lovely heart song, Rocky glad to see mate! What need, question?”
Adrian couldn’t help the warm feeling rising in his body at his mate's words. There had been days where Adrian had thought that he’d never hear the pet name from his beloved ever again. Another thing that he technically had to thank the human for, if it ever woke up.
Looking at his mate now, Adrian could see the tenseness in his carapace; a deep exhaustion seemed to weigh heavy on his mate’s soul. Another thing Adrian disliked the human for. It was its fault that his mate looked like that after all. Stupid humans and their inefficient bodies!
“Rocky mate, my soul melody, Came to check on Rocky. Look tired, statement. Rocky should take sleep cycle soon.”
“But have to watch over Grace! Grace still not waking up. Bad, bad, bad. Need to be there for Grace. Need to watch over sleep.”
“Rocky mate need to think about own health for once! Must sleep, command!”
“No, no, no!”
Everything in Rocky wanted to follow his beloved’s command. Adrian had always been the more levelheaded of the two. Adrian’s input had always been very important to Rocky, but now he couldn’t obey his mate. He simply couldn’t.
“What if Grace needs Rocky? What if Grace gets worse? What if Grace die? Die without Rocky being there? What if Grace never wakes up? What if Rocky can’t fix? What if-”
Adrian’s hearts broke at his mate's spiraling ramble. His mates' hearts had always been so very big. Rocky always felt emotions deeply. It was one of the reasons Adrian fell for his mate in the first place. Now his mate seemed nothing if not lost in his spiral. Adrian made his way over to his trembling mate and laid one of his claws gently on his mate's carapace, effectively silencing Rocky.
“Adrian sorry for harsh tone. Adrian should help mate instead of yelling. Rocky mate carry way too much. Worry, worry, worry. Let Adrian help please, please, please. Let Adrian watch over Rocky and human. One sleep cycle. Tomorrow we see how Adrain can help further. Please, my beloved soul melodie.”
“Rocky also sorry, sorry, sorry. Neglect Adrian mate. Neglect self. Need to fix Grace.”
“Rocky mate isn’t alone. Adrian can help, promise.”
“Rocky thankful. Adrian mate right as always. Adrian watch Rocky and Grace sleep?”
“Always my soul melody.”
Adrian felt deep relief at Rocky’s acceptance of his help. This couldn’t go on like this. He wouldn’t stand by and watch as his mate destroyed himself all in a quest to save a single human. Adrian just got his mate back. He wouldn’t lose him again.
Rocky cuddled against his mate's carapace, winding two of his arms around the closest arm of Adrian. He let out a content thrill as he let himself unwind for what felt like the first time in nearly five decades.
“Adrian miss Rocky mate deeply.”
“Rocky also miss Adrian mate. Love love love heart song.”
“Love love love soul melody.”
Adrian felt his mate go limp after that, having fallen into his sleep cycle almost instantly. Adrain gave a low thrill. His mate really had neglected himself. Adrian would make sure that it wouldn’t happen again.
He let his gaze wander to the human in his little rectangular nest. All this because of one little alien.
As Adrian listened to both his mate’s and the human’s sleep cycles, he took note of the slight uptick in the human’s heartbeat. Rocky had explained this to Adrian. His mate had called it nightmares. Something the human seemed to suffer from often. They were the reason Rocky liked to sing during the human's sleep cycle, even now when he couldn’t respond to it. Rocky said it helped the human in his sleep. Another thing that Adrian couldn’t help but find weird about the alien.
Nonetheless, Adrian felt his carapace starting to vibrate as he let out the first notes of his own song to calm the human down. He may not understand the creature, but he’d do anything to make his mate happy. And if helping this human was important to Rocky, then it was also important to Adrian.
~~~
Things got a bit better after that night. While Rocky was still mostly glued to the humans' side, he had allowed Adrian to take over the biodome construction. Adrian liked that he finally felt like he could help his mate. Seeing Rocky work himself to exhaustion hadn’t been easy.
Rocky still didn’t come back to their nest, opting to stay on board the human’s ship. Adrian was sad that his beloved and him didn’t share the nest like they used to. The night that he had got to watch over his mate’s sleep had been the happiest Adrian had been in decades.
Adrian knew that he had to work something out. If his mate couldn’t bear to be separated from the human and come back to their nest, then Adrian just had to bring their nest to him!
The bigger eridian had spent most of the day hunting down new nesting material since he couldn’t bring himself to dismantle their nest at home. Now with all the materials that Adrian had found, he was on his way back to the Hail Mary. He had himself resigned to the fact that he’d also be spending his sleep cycles on the ship.
If it meant that he’d spent more time with his mate, Adrian would do nearly anything.
The moment he stepped into the humans' nesting room, Rocky let out an excited chirp.
“My beloved heart song. Rocky happy happy happy to see you. What bring, question?"
“Adrian bring nest material. Rocky mate and Adrian make secondary nest here. Rocky can watch human. Adrian watch soul melody.”
“Amaze amaze amaze. Adrian so smart. Adrian so lovely. Adrian so perfect.”
“Rocky flatter Adrian. Rocky help build new nest, question?”
“Rocky would be honored to help mate, statement!”
And so Rocky and Adrian build a new nest in the human's nesting room. Adrian wasn’t sure if the nesting room held the same significance to humans as it did to eridians, but it wasn’t like they could ask the comatose human for its consent. Rocky didn’t seem worried, so Adrian decided to just go with the flow.
~~~
It happened a few days later. Adrian and Rocky had just settled into their secondary nest as the human heartbeat changed. The next thing the Eridians saw was a flailing Grace finally waking up for the first time.
“Grace Grace Grace! Finally awake! Amaze amaze amaze!”
Rocky was already at Grace’s side.
“Rocky…?”
“Yes yes yes! How feeling, question?”
The rest of the conversation wasn’t heard by Adrian as the Eridian quickly made his way to the medical team to alert them about Grace’s change. The next few hours were spent in a blur of scientists fussing over the human. Adrian held himself in the background to let the Eridians with medical experience do their job.
It was many hours later that Rocky came to Adrian.
“Grace stable now. Adrian want to meet, question? Grace exited to meet Adrian.”
“Of course Adrian meet Grace, if that what Rocky want.”
“Amaze amaze amaze!”
Rocky excitedly ran back into the human’s nesting room. Adrian followed his mate at a more measured pace. He was happy for his beloved. In the few hours since Grace’s waking up, Rocky had been the most energized that Adrian had seen him in a very long time. Still, the negative feelings that Adrian still associated with the human were always on his mind.
The human’s eyes widened the moment Adrian entered the nesting room.
“Oh, uh, hello. You must be Adrian. Rocky has told me so much about you. I’m glad to finally meet you. I gotta say that I hadn’t pictured you to be so tall." Grace nervously ran his hand through his hair. “And now I am rambling again. I’m very sorry.” He let out a nervous chuckle.
“Why Grace sorry? Grace right! Rocky mate big. Rocky mate beautiful. Rocky mate best there is.”
Adrian cut through his beloved musings.
“Adrian also glad to meet human. Adrian say thank for help Rocky. For bring Rocky safe home to mate.”
The human seemed to shy away from Adrian's words.
“You can call me Grace. And no need to thank me, please.”
~~~
Adrian had thought that things would get easier once the human was awake. But as it turned out, the road to recovery was long and hard on the human. It took many days for him to be able to leave his nest. The times he managed to take a walk, he never even made it out of the Hail Mary. He also needed near-constant assistance with it. Rocky continued to always stay in the human’s orbit, choosing to stay on the Hail Mary while Adrian continued the construction of the new human-safe biodome.
At least with Grace’s input the biodome slowly but surely took shape.
It was a few weeks after the human had woken up that Adrian came to the Hail Mary with a mission on his mind. Adrain’s crew had finally finished the dome part of the biodome. The atmosphere was finally stable and at an earthly level. The bigger eridian was proud of their progress thus far and wanted to share this progress with his beloved. His beloved, who had yet to leave the Hail Mary.
Because even though the human made progress in his recovery, Rocky still was reluctant to leave his side. The smaller eridian made sure to take note of every change that Grace’s body showed. He would often talk with Adrian about every little detail, like how the human’s eyes were less sunken in and how his rips weren’t showing that harshly anymore.
“Rocky mate will see. Soon Grace be healthy and strong. Just how Grace was when Grace Rocky met," he’d say to Adrian.
Adrian wasn’t really sure how a creature that looked as small and squishy as the human could be considered strong, but he would wait and see what Rocky meant. For now the bigger Eridian was happy to see his mate be so positive, even if he still never really left the human’s side.
Adrian almost couldn’t hold his excitement in as he got to the human’s nesting room.
“Oh, hello Adrian. It’s good to see you.”
“My beloved heart song! Amaze! Rocky glad to see. What Rocky mate want, question?”
“Hello Grace, Hello soul melody! Rocky come. Rocky see biodome progress.”
“No beloved. Rocky can’t leave Grace.” Rocky threw an anxious look at Grace, almost as if he were scared the human could disappear once he was left alone. “Rocky and Grace come visit when Grace better. When Grace walk walk walk longer.”
Adrian let out a disappointed thrill. He had put all his hearts into the dome's construction. Thanks to the science team finally getting the atmosphere down, Grace would finally be able to leave the Hail Mary without needing a xenonite suit.
“No Rocky. You should go if you want. I’m sure Adrian has put a lot of work into the dome. Don’t let me stop you. I can do my exercise without you today.”
Rocky nervously taped the floor with his claws.
“But what if Grace fall? Like few days ago. What if Rocky not there to help? Grace still need to recover more, statement!”
Grace threw an uncertain look from Rocky to Adrian. The bigger Eridian could remember the incident his beloved was talking about. Grace had tried walking a longer distance on the Hail Mary. The human had stumbled and hadn’t been able to get back up on his own. That sleep cycle it had taken Adrian many minutes to get both his mate and the human to sleep.
“If Grace, Rocky not separate, Adrian carry Grace. Biodome now safe for Grace. Grace can also see progress.”
“Yes yes yes! Rocky mate so smart. Rocky mate so strong. Good good good idea!”
“Are you sure that that would be alright with you, Adrian? I wouldn’t want to be a burden.”
“What Grace mean, question? Grace as light as pebble. Grace not burden.”
“I didn’t mean that you wouldn’t be able to carry me. It’s just something humans say. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Biodome build for Grace. Grace no intrude. Grace illogical.”
"Grace very illogical," Rocky chimed in.
That made the human’s protest quiet down.
“Human take quilt. Rocky, Grace, Adrian go now, statement.”
Adrian made his way over to Grace, who was still rooted to his nest. The bigger eridian was gentle as he helped Grace into a standing position. He had heard many many times from his mate how delicate the small human was. How one had to be careful when handling Grace. Adrian got the big quilt off of the human’s nest and gingerly wrapped the human into it before using two of his arms to pick up Grace in what the human thinking machine called a princess carry.
Grace let out a startled sound as his feet left the ground. Rocky excitedly made his way over.
“Grace see. Grace no burden for Adrian. Adrian, Grace, Rocky go on adventure now! Amaze amaze amaze!”
"Yeah, buddy. I can see that."
Grace threw a nervous glance to the bigger eridian that was holding him as if he weighed nothing at all. Adrian could hear a slight uptick in the human’s heartbeat but didn’t give it much thought. If it were something he should concern himself with, he was sure that his mate would’ve already made a big fuss about it. Speaking of his mate, Rocky already had made his way over to the door of the nesting room.
“Heart song come, Grace come, question?
~~~
Rocky ran along the biodome’s beach as fast as his arms and excitement could carry him, all while showering his mate with a steady stream of praise.
“Amaze amaze amaze”
Adrian gave his mate a fond look while following after him at a slower pace to accommodate the human in his arms. Rocky’s praise slowly got further and further away as he lost himself in all his excitement.
“Hey Adrian," the human spoke up quietly.
Adrian gave him an acknowledging thrill.
“I’m very sorry that I’m keeping Rocky from you. I can see how much you missed him, and he always talks about missing you. Heck! There was barely a day on our way back here that he didn’t talk about you. And now that you’re finally back together, me and my inefficient leaky body get in your way.” Grace lowered his head in shame.
Adrian felt his hearts break for the fragile human. Why would he blame himself?
“Apology accepted, but not needed. Is not at fault for illness. Should only focus on getting better. Till then Adrian help. Rocky mate and Adrian will work this out. Always do.”
Adrian pet one of his claws through Grace’s hair in what he hoped was a calming gesture.
"Grace, stop bad thoughts. Bad bad bad. Bring back my soul melody. Save stars. Need to recover.”
Adrian heard the human’s heart skip a beat as he started leaking from his eyes. Tears, as Rocky had taught him.
“Why Grace leaking, question? Hurt? Pain? Adrian say something wrong?”
“No no no these are happy tears. I’m sorry I worried you. I know how disgusting you all find it when I leak. But I’m just so happy. Hearing these words from you means more than you could ever know.”
“Grace not disgust. Grace just different. Adrian relieved.” Adrian was surprised how much he meant this. When he thought about the human, he could think about many words that would suit him. Disgusting wasn't one of them. In fact, the human could be considered gorgeous in many aspects. His voice had a soothing cadence, and the way he talked about science was quite endearing. He reminded Adrian of his mate in that regard. The human also tended to make other little sounds like laughter or humming while working or those little noises he made while sleeping. Adrian could describe those only as adorable. And with the human cradled in Adrian’s arms, the eridian really understood how light and soft the human really was. Who wouldn’t find him cute, all wrapped into his quilt like that?
“Grace wanna talk about biodome? Grace like, question? What Grace wanna change?”
All three spend the rest of the day exploring the biodome. Rocky and Grace listened attentively as Adrian explained the newest developments, while Grace gave feedback here and there about the things he was shown.
~~~
The next few weeks Adrian spent finishing and perfecting the biodome. He, Rocky, and Grace were going on walks through it almost daily. And while Grace steadily built his strength back up, most walks still ended with him back in Adrian’s arms. Something that Adrian found he didn’t mind at all.
In fact he almost looked forward to having Grace back in his arms again. Not only was the little human still light as a feather to Adrian, he also made for a great partner in conversation. Adrian could have talked and listened to the human all day long. That Rocky was also always near wherever Grace was is another bonus. The tension that had built between the reunited mates was only a figment in their memories now. A difficult chapter in both their lives that had made their bond stronger than ever.
The day that the biodome was finished had both Rocky and the human waking from their respective sleep cycles with excitement. Adrian was also excited. He couldn’t wait to show the human his new house. The bigger eridian hadn’t let Rocky or Grace see it yet.
Nestled at the edge of the biodome wasn’t only Grace’s house. There was also a second part of the house on the outer side of the dome. Adrian had known the moment his mate had trusted him with the biodome that he’d have to find a way to allow Rocky and Grace to stay close together. The codependency that the two shared had been a difficult thing for Adrian to navigate at first. Most of his early resentment for the human could probably be attributed to that same codependency. But Adrian had learned to adapt. Instead of working against the bond his mate now shared with the human, the bigger eridian had made use of his architectural talents and designed a house just for them.
You see, Adrian had not only built one house but two. One with Grace’s atmosphere and one that was safe for Eridians. Both halves were connected by a wall that was see-through to Grace’s eyes so it could make both parts feel like one. Furthermore, Adrian had also built a pressure chamber, which functioned as a bridge between both houses. Both Grace and the Eridians would be able to freely and easily switch between both sides as long as they used a xenonite suit.
Adrian wouldn’t lie; it had taken some time to get comfortable with the thought that he and Rocky may abandon their old home permanently, but there was nothing more important to the bigger Eridian than the happiness of his mate.
And it wasn’t hard to see that Rocky’s happiness was no longer solely connected to Adrian. It was also now forever connected to the human. A fact that Adrian had learned to accept in the last few months. Now the bigger Eridian felt nothing besides the excitement of finally getting to see his mate’s and Grace’s reactions to the surprise.
Both Rocky and Grace were familiar with almost every part of the biodome thanks to their daily walks, so Adrian decided to not waste any time and lead them both directly to the new house.
“Wow Adrian this is so cool! All this is for me?”
“Yes yes yes. Adrian have surprise. Surprise for Rocky mate and Grace. Adrian show. Rocky, Grace follow, command.”
Adrian opened the door and guided the others to the living area where the two halves of the home meet.
“What this, question?”
"Yeah, Adrian. What’s up with the wall?”
Adrian nervously taped his claws on the floor.
“Is surprise. Adrian see Rocky mate und Grace bond. Adrian see much love. So Adrian think think think how accommodate bond. How make life easy. Make all happy. Conclusion: Live together. Adrian built two houses, connected. One earth atmosphere, one erid atmosphere. Now Rocky, Grace, Adrian live together, if want, question?”
Both Rocky and Grace looked speechless for a moment. Rocky was the first to find his voice again.
“Mate Adrian do all this for us, question?”
“Yes yes yes! Would do anything to make mate happy!”
“Rocky have best mate of all time! Amaze amaze amaze! Adrian so smart. Adrian strong. Adrian beautiful. House perfect. Thank thank thank.”
Rocky excitedly danced around his mate as he showered Adrian in praise. If eridians could blush, Adrian would have had a bright red carapace. He was glad his mate liked his surprise. He looked at his mate with an endless fondness in all his hearts.
A small whimper cut through the moment like a knife. Both Eridans snapped their attention over to Grace. The human was leaking from his eyes again. Rocky was already zipping over to the human as fast as his claws could take him.
“Grace leaking why, question? Grace hurt? Grace not like idea?!”
The human rubbed the sleeve of his cardigan over his eyes, trying to stop the tears.
“No no no Rocky, that’s not it.”
“Then why Grace leaking, question?”
Adrian now also had made his way over to the human.
“Oh Adrian. No one has ever done something so thoughtful for me. I mean, you built two whole houses just so I could feel safe and at home.”
"Of course, Adrian do. Grace important. Rocky important. Rocky, Grace safe stars. Rocky, Grace deserve only best. Also Grace need someone to watch sleepcircle. Is easy like this. Efficient, statement."
“Still… are you sure you want to share yours and Rocky’s space with me?”
“Yes yes yes. Grace important to Rocky. So Grace also important to Adrian. Moving to new house, sharing space: small sacrifice, statement. Grace accept, question?”
“Yes! Yes, of course! This is better than I could have ever hoped. Thank you, Adrian.”
“Amaze amaze amaze!” Rocky resumed his little happy dance.
The rest of the day was spent moving the first important things into the new house. Adrian first carried Grace back to the Hail Mary, where the human pointed out all the things he’d need to bring back to his new home. Adrian did the most of the heavy lifting.
Much later, while Rocky watched over the human’s sleep circle in his newly built nest, Adrian got busy packing everything at their old home together. As Grace awoke from his sleep cycle, most of the Eridian's belongings had already found a new spot in their half of the house.
~~~