Chapter Text
High-pitched laughter spread through the house. It was almost so loud that nearby Eridians outside the dome could've heard it. Grace and Simon didn't care, in fact, the Eridians loved the human pebbles. They were absolutely adorable to them, and Grace agreed. They're just the cutest little things.
And those cutest little things were currently trying to crush him.
Grace laughed when he was tackled by the two kids who had been chasing him. He had only stopped to look back, only to see both of them barreling into him. Unable to stop themselves, they ended up piled on top of him. God, where had the time gone? They were so big already.
Five-year-old little toddlers...
It seemed like yesterday they were still little babies wearing their onesies and tiny bonnets. The ones who would cry if they weren't sleeping next to each other, the ones who would also cry so much that they ended up waking each other up...
Now they've gotten so big and so much energy...
Grace let out a laugh upon hearing their laughter. He attempted to tickle them, which only made their high-pitched laughter somehow even louder. They screamed as they tried to get away, and little Celine somehow managed to grab a discarded pillow and smack her father with it.
Grace gasped dramatically and laid down, choking out a few harsh coughs before playing dead. The two children screamed. Grace was trying so hard not to break until the pillow slammed into his face. Grace let out a chuckle until he felt the pillow press harder against his face.
Okay, can't breathe now!
He internalized his panic as he gently lifted himself up to see the culprit holding the pillow. She laughed innocently at Grace as if she hadn't just attempted to suffocate him. But who was Grace to think that? She could do no wrong whatsoever!
Grace couldn't help but smile. "You can't keep getting away with this. Pillows on faces are not good, okay?" He grabbed her and set her on his lap, earning a giggle when he kissed her head. Grace then glanced at his son, who was watching and laughing as well.
"You don't get any ideas either, mister. Your sister is not exactly being a good role model right now." Little Damien attempted to run away but shrieked when Grace managed to grab him too, setting him on his lap beside his sister and giving him kisses as well.
God, he loved his children...
He loved them so much...
He'd give them everything they wanted and then more...
"Well, well, well, what happened here?" A deep voice came from the kitchen. Grace looked up to a beautiful sight. Simon stood leaning against the doorframe with one hand on his hip and a bright green apron wrapped around him. He had been preparing dinner while Grace watched the twins, and he was now witnessing their living room, which had been clean before he started cooking, now covered with toys, pillows, and blankets.
"Papa!!" the twins yelled, happily jumping off their father's lap and rushing over to their papa, excitedly asking what was for dinner.
"You guys are a mess..." Simon chuckled and used his apron to wipe the sweat off them before fixing their hair, which was currently sticking to their heads and necks. He patted their heads once their hair was neat again. Playtime tended to get rough sometimes; it was normal. Grace smiled and remained on the floor, simply watching his partner tend to their children. He loved how gentle Simon was with them. He had always been gentle with Grace, but the scientist had not been prepared for just how much gentler and softer Simon had become since the twins were born. He never even raised his voice at them, and he was so weak when it came to them. The twins only had to give him one look, and he'd be ready to give them anything. He simply couldn't say no to them at all. He spoiled them rotten.
"Where's my wipe-down and pats on the head?" Grace asked playfully.
The twins giggled as Simon rolled his eyes. "Go on, wash up for dinner. I'll deal with your father..." The twins quickly scurried away, arguing over who could get to the sink first. Simon chuckled and tilted his head toward Grace, who just smiled and finally stood up with a huff. "Oof, wow, they're getting heavier. They managed to bring me down this time."
Simon laughed. "Maybe you should join them. God, Grace, you're all sweaty." He approached, lifting his apron to wipe his partner's face. Grace just hummed and accepted it. "What? I'm not that sweaty..."
Simon rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are... The sweatiest human in all of Erid."
Grace blinked. "Oh yeah? You really mean that?" He put on a sad voice, which made Simon smirk and stop wiping. "Yes. All sweat, that's what you are."
"Oh well, how about you take this!" Grace suddenly grabbed Simon by the waist, pulling him close. Grace nuzzled his cheek against Simon's, who let out a groan.
"Ryland Grace, get off me!" Simon tried to push him away, but Grace had a firm grip on him as he kept nuzzling him like a cat. "Now we're both the sweatiest humans on Erid." Grace hummed, leaning closer to peck his cheek.
"How dare you..." Simon groaned, still trying to push him away. But Grace remained still and smiled. "How can I make it up to you, my love?"
"You're so dramatic."
Grace hummed and leaned to the side to kiss Simon on the lips. "You love it..." Simon felt his face grow red, his body visibly relaxing and his expression softening.
"I love it..."
They smiled once again. Grace gently held Simon's waist a little tighter, and Simon's arm moved to Grace's neck. He didn't even care about the sweat anymore as Simon was the one who leaned in this time for another kiss, which Grace accepted just as eagerly.
Their kiss didn't last long before they heard gagging noises and a chorus of "Ews!" from across the room.
The two men pulled away to see their children peeking in, looking thoroughly disgusted.
They laughed and pulled apart. "And that's our cue for dinner time. Come on." Simon cupped Grace's cheek one last time before walking over to their children and ushering them toward the kitchen. Grace almost melted on the spot, the warmth of his lover's hand still lingering on his cheek as he followed.
"What is this? What this?" Celine approached the table, not yet able to reach high enough to see what was on it. Even standing on her tippy-toes, she still couldn't see.
"Up we go, beastie!" Grace came up behind her and picked her up, helping her settle into a seat. Simon did the same for Damien.
The twins gasped at the food.
"Cake!!!" they screamed, completely disregarding the other dishes and focusing only on the bright pink strawberry cake in the middle of the table.
"You guys have been eating your veggies for a whole week without spitting them back up. You guys deserve something for that." Grace smiled and sat down beside them.
They were already trying to reach for the cake but were stopped when two plates of the other dishes were placed in front of them. "Cake comes after. You still need to eat an actual meal first," Simon said, gentle but stern as he presented their dinner first, their plates filled with mashed potatoes and gravy, with a side of asparagus and scrambled eggs.
The twins groaned at the sight of the greens on their plates.
Grace hummed as he was already taking a bite out of his own plate. He turned to them with a smile. "How about this... We finish dinner here, then we can take the whole cake up to the fun room and watch whatever you want." Grace offered.
The mention of the fun room, which used to be called the "Don't Go Crazy Room," made the twins perk up in excitement, and they immediately started going to town on their plates.
Grace laughed. "And what do we say?" he reminded them.
The twins stopped eating, remembering what to do as they turned toward Simon. "Thank you for the food, Papa!" they said in unison, their mouths still full.
Simon blushed and sat down as well, smiling softly as they continued to devour their plates.
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"What are we planning to watch?" Grace asked, sitting down in the middle of the room as Simon patted the pillows behind them and made sure the cake was being distributed. The twins paid no mind to them as they scrolled through the options, mumbling something to each other while countless movies and series from the archives passed by, as if they needed to discuss it first before agreeing.
It was honestly a cute sight.
Grace and Simon hummed, waiting patiently for them to choose.
"This! This!" Celine exclaimed first, pointing to a Disney movie that the category had landed on.
Tangled
Damien seemed to agree as well, clearly amazed by the poster as he admired it with bright eyes. He pointed at the horse. "What this?" He asked, his voicr so small yet full of curiosity.
Grace chuckled and opened his arms. They quickly climbed into them, settling between him and Simon. "That's a horse, sweetie... One of the coolest animals on Earth. They can run pretty fast, and humans usually ride them." Grace loved teaching them. Both of them looked at him with awe, now even more excited for the movie.
"Daddy's hair!" Celine giggled, pointing to Rapunzel's hair. With Grace being the only blonde in their family, they tended to get pretty excited whenever they saw other hair colours. Especially blonde ones, it always reminded them of their father.
Grace let out a laugh. "Her hair is clearly brighter and so much longer... I wish my hair were as healthy as hers, but I doubt I could pull off that look."
The twins giggled. Simon turned to him with a smug smile. "I don't know, Angel. You'd look amazing with long, glowing hair."
Grace suddenly felt his face heat up again. He shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Please keep the flattery until after the end of the film, please," he cooed, leaning back with his children and Simon resting against him.
"Alright, play Tangled, please, Mary," he commanded. The room immediately went dark until the movie slowly faded in.
Grace smiled, feeling his children snuggle against them. Their small, shining eyes were already filled with curiosity and excitement as they watched the film.
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The cake was half finished. Celine didn't even get to finish her slice as she fell asleep while holding the half-eaten piece by the time the film had ended, and Damien was already asleep too. A lot of the scenes had stressed him out, especially toward the end, and it must've tired him out.
But Grace couldn't forget how much they enjoyed the movie, how the action scenes had them screaming in excitement, how Rapunzel's joy at witnessing the world for the first time radiated that same energy to them, as if they were seeing it for the first time too...
And technically, it was... The forest scenes, the village, the cave... everything. His kids had no access to the world either, aside from the archives they had through Mary. Grace could only teach them from there.
But they could never witness it for themselves...
Like Rapunzel was...
Grace frowned. Oh no... He did not like the thought of that...
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Simon and Grace had tucked the twins into bed, making sure they were clean and comfortable.
Simon couldn't help but notice that Grace seemed off after the movie. Sure, they had just watched a pretty impactful film, but he had a feeling Grace was thinking about more than just the movie...
Simon glanced at Grace as he cleaned what was left of the fun room. He was quiet, and his body was almost stiff.
"Angel?"
Grace turned to him slowly, folding a blanket as he did. "Yes?"
"Are you okay?" Simon asked, straight to the point. Grace froze for a moment as he laid the freshly folded blanket down.
He sighed. "Am I... a bad father for having them here...?"
Simon blinked. Nothing could've prepared him for that question. What did he mean by that?
"What?"
Grace froze before raising his hands. "Wait, no- that sounds worse. I mean... I meant it, but what I mean is... Gosh... Ugh... It's just... The movie made me think."
Simon tilted his head in concern. He stepped closer and took Grace's hand, hoping it would help Grace find the right words.
Grace sighed. "Tell me the truth... Am I the Mother Gothel in this relationship?" he asked.
Simon blinked. Again, nothing could've prepared him for that question. "What?" he managed to choke out in pure confusion.
Grace bit his lip and looked away toward the dark screens. "I mean... She was keeping Rapunzel away from everything. She didn't even know the feeling of grass beneath her feet or sand beneath her toes her whole life..." Grace tried not to cry as he thought about it. "She was robbed of everything, and I can't help but feel like I'm doing the same to Celine and Damien..."
Simon's heart ached hearing those words come out of Grace's mouth. He hadn't expected Grace to think of himself that way.
"Angel... are you comparing yourself to Mother Gothel?" Simon asked quietly, equally confused and saddened. The comparison was no where close to each other, Grace was his loving Angel and Gothel was a villain that kidnapped a child for her own selfish desires. Grace was no where near to being Gothel.
Grace looked up, sniffling as if desperately trying not to cry. "I know! It's stupid. I'm sorry... It's just..." He finally looked down into Simon's eyes, who remained quiet and patiently waited for Grace to open up more.
"It made me realize... Life here on Erid is great, but... they deserve more. So... so much more. And I can't give them more if they're here..." Grace's voice was cracking now.
"I can't imagine them growing up here. There's only so much I can teach them, and eventually they'll want to learn more. They'll try to find new things, and I don't know if we, or all of Erid can provide that for them. Even if we could, we won't always be here for them. They'll only have themselves here... And as much as that sounds like paradise, I realized I'm being selfish, because this place is my paradise, and it eventually became yours. But they didn't ask to be here... They'll grow up here all alone, the same thing every day and with no one but the Eridians and no humans around. And I feel like that's such a cruel fate for them."
Simon listened intently. His heart ached hearing Grace speak about himself like this, but also knowing how far ahead Grace had been thinking. Grace was scared for their future... and he had every right to be. Simon was too. But hearing Grace explain it that way... it hurt. Especially with Grace's experience of being touch starved for so long, he knew the feeling by experience from being away for humans and society for so long.
It was just a fact, people indeed needed people..
Simon didn't know what to say. He himself had once been like Rapunzel in a way, up until Grace became his Flynn Rider, opening his eyes to living rather than merely surviving. He could understand why Grace was scared.
Simon simply nodded and held Grace's hand. "What do you think we should do?"
Grace pressed his lips into a line. He was hesitant, but eventually managed to say it.
"What are your thoughts on Earth?"