Chapter Text
Simon only ever wanted to live-
He didn’t want to be sent to the bottom of a blood ocean-
Didn’t want to slowly drown
Didn’t want to be consumed by the Eel
He just-
Wanted to live…
And he got his wish-
He landed in a giant’s ship with a man named Grace-
They had been living together in the Hail Mary now for months with an another Alien called Rocky-
True to his name Rocky was… well a rock
Granted he was an alien rock with legs and its own language
But a rock nonetheless.
It had been stressful at first but…
Then…
Then it wasn’t about Survival anymore-
Then it was about living again-
Actually living-
Not scrounging to survive or being given the barest of minimums in prison.
He was Alive!!
And loved
Between Grace and Rocky he felt like he had a really family again.
He learned what being a brother actually meant!
No cult ideals
No expectations to uphold
Just-
Love and kindness
Simon only wished-
That he could reciprocate his adoration better.
Being small in a world of giants had its disadvantages.
But.. nothing he could do about that
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Space was filled with millions of unknowns
It was an endless expanse after all-
And the farther away you got from Earth-
the closer you got to those unknowns
The Hail Mary had long since crossed that line-
So when a wave of mysterious light washed over them-
And they all passed out.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
OooOoooO noooooo the author isn’t lazy *wiggles magical fingers around like a Jedi*
Author is just sleep deprived and doing her best
OooooOoOoOooooOo!!!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Simon woke up with a groan-
What in the world just happened???
Something was obviously wrong-
Slowly he pushed himself up, he was in a familiar looking room, the walls were white and sterile but there was pops of colour in the form of Blankets and writing on the walls
Simon knew this room
It was Grace’s lab-
But.. it was all normal sized!!
The hell??
The more Simon looked around, the more he started to freak out more.
Did the lab shrink?? Or did he grow???
Both were impossible and both left a single question.
“Grace?! Rocky?? Where are you guys??”
Simon was frantic, looking around the lab in a rush-
Were they in a different part of the ship? “Grace?! Rocky?! Please answer me?!”
Rocky had amazing hearing, unless he was sleeping there is no way he couldn’t hear Simon right now-
But what if… they were hurt?
Then what would he do-
Simon wasn’t a doctor he didn’t know how to fix things like that-!!
In the middle of his panicking Simon finally heard it-
A faint voice- someone familiar but… distorted or.. rather just… smaller-
“Simon!” The voice called “Simon the table! I’m on the table”
Simon looked over sharply across the room- untill his eyes finally landed on the table- where a very small Grace stood swinging his arms around.
“Grace?!? Oh hell what the heck happened?!”
Grace said something, but he was no longer yelling and Simon couldn’t hear so he stumbled over- still not use to the room’s size-
“Sorry what was that? I.. I couldn’t hear-“
“Oh! Right- right sorry I just- well whatever cosmic event just happened- it switched us!
Rocky seems to be normal but he’s knocked out cold-“
Grace’s small voice still didn’t sound right to the ex-convict
The scientist was small and vulnerable- Simon needed to protect him!
Wait… is this what Grace had felt for him when they first met???
Is this why he always wanted to hold him, to keep him close??
Because it was too nerve racking to be apart?
Simon wanted to reach forward
To cup Grave in his hands-
To tuck him close and keep him safe
But…
He knew what it was like to be In Grace’s place-
To be so small in a land of giants
It was overwhelming!
As the tiny scientist continued to ramble pacing back and forth across the counter reached forward then hesitated,
Then reached forward and … and… stopped
“G-grace?”
The Tiny Man stopped in his tracks-
“Yeah?”
“I… .. I want… I just need to know you’re safe.”
“Huh? Yeah of course I am- why- oh… .. right.. .. you um.. want to hold me?”
Simon nodded slowly, his hands still uncertain ,
“I… I don’t need to… .. I understand everything is overwhelming but.. I.. I was just wondering if… if..”
Ryland’s gaze soften, as he shuffles nervously
“It’s.. it’s okay.. I get it.. I am overwhelmed a bit… uh.. pressure helped me when I’m big- so… it should help me when I’m Small too…. .. right?”
Simon nodded. Not knowing if it were true-
All he knew was that if it made things worse he wouldn’t try again-“
Grace took a deep breath, then reached up a single hand towards him-
Simon took a step forward and reached out his hand-
To Grace’s credit he didn’t flinch-
Didn’t pull away
He touched Simon’s palm, then half climbed on-
Simon did the rest- scooping the small scientist up in both of his hands
That’s when Grace let out a quick yelp followed by a nervous laugh-
“Is… is this okay Grace?”
The scientist looked up at his friend, then nodded “yeah.. yeah I’m okay, just… getting used to it ya know… it’s… it’s definitely strange.”
“Yeah you don’t need to tell me twice-.. will you tell me if it’s too much?”
“.. .. .. yeah… I will… but I trust you Si-“
Warmth bloomed in Simon’s chest and he cradled Grace that little bit closer-
“Thank you Grace… thank you… “
Grace’s small hand slowly traces the lines on Simon’s palm-
Soothing both himself and the now giant Ex-convict-
“Anytime Chicken Fry-“
“W-what?”
“Nevermind- just a silly phrase-“
“Oh.. so… so what do we do about this-“
Ryland paused his tracing- “I don’t know yet… but.. we’ll figure it out-… one step at a time..”
Simon nodded, uncertainty still prevalent in his mind but…
Grace was one of the smartest people he knew… and once Rocky woke up, they’d figure it out-
He had faith in that..
But for now-
Simon gently rubbed his thumb against Grace’s arm- then ruffles his hair
The scientist chuckled a lot more lightly than before- shoving the offending digit away-
“Hey! Just because your the giant now doesn’t mean you can harass me more now-“
“Mmm- actually I think this means I can pay you back for all that times you messed with me- little brother-“ Simon’s shit eating grin said it all
“Hey! I’m older than you punk-“
Simon was laughing now- the previous knots of anxiety in his chest melting away-
“Well now I’m taller-“
He moved his thumb back towards Grace, carefully ruffling his hair again, before moving to hover over his chest-
Nice and gentle pressure, no more than a firm hug would entail-
He could feel the Scientist’s heart beat this way-
And while it was strong, it also wasn’t racing-
He was relaxed and safe-
Part of that reassured Simon- the other small part worried for his survival instincts-
But-
At least there was no one else out here that would abuse that.
Grace rolled his eyes but smiled regardless, hugging the thumb back with the same force.
“Ya ya… well get it out of your system, then we have work to do-“
“Uh huh… yeah just after Rocky wakes up-“
This whole situation was still freaking him out internally-
But-
If there was one thing he could take away positively from this whole this thought-
Was at least now he could return his affection for his now very little brother (ha ha)
So maybe it wasn’t all going to be awful.