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Adrian was working on plans for improvements to the biodome when Rocky crashed into the space like a windstorm, a flurry of sound and activity. The disturbance was a welcome one after their home had been suffocatingly quiet during the years their mate was missing. Rocky always had a way of enlivening the space they were in. Making it as exuberant as they were.
Their mate had just come back from the humans' biodome—Adrian typically went with them but had needed to get this done—and Rocky was already going on about what happened. The first chord sang with happiness at having seen Grace. The second endearingly asked if Adrian needed help. The third complained loudly and crassly about how Simon and Grace were the stupidest humans in the universe.
In response, Adrian sang that Rocky's happiness was their happiness, told Rocky that all they need is their company, and asked what the humans had done now.
Climbing atop Adrian's larger body, Rocky sang about many things but mostly about how the stupid fucking humans were so obviously enamored with each other, yet they didn't do anything about it.
This was a problem that Adrian had noted as well, but they took a stance that these things typically worked themselves out. They just had to be patient.
Rocky griped that the humans' short lives would probably end before that happened.
As Rocky continued complaining—describing how Simon's heartrate had increased exponentially when Grace complimented his garden—Adrian listened. They also told Rocky about their improvement plans. In addition, they reminded Rocky that they too had a slow start to their courtship. Rocky had been entirely oblivious to Adrian's affections, having gotten it into their head that Adrian was too good for them. It had taken Adrian jealously scaring off another potential mate for Rocky to finally get the message.
The reminder of their courtship had Rocky singing about how wonderful and strong and protective their mate was.
Suddenly though, Rocky burst into a chorus of excitement. AN IDEA!!! AN IDEA FROM THEIR BRILLIANT, WONDERFUL MATE!!!
Perhaps, the reason why the humans' courtship was so stagnant was because there were no rivals. Stimulating some jealousy should speed things along.
Rocky sang three different plans at once, and Adrian knew pointing out that that wasn't the point of their story would be useless. Their mate had a trajectory. Their mind was hard to change once set.
Besides, Adrian enjoyed watching the chaos of Rocky's schemes far more than attempting to temper them.
****
It was one of Grace's days off. He and Simon were relaxing in the living room, each reading their own books on tablets. They were each sitting on an end of the couch with their legs casually tangled. Occasionally, they would throw out a comment to one another.
These domestic, quiet days were something Grace treasured. Just, the luxury of enjoying each other's company in pea—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Grace sighed deeply at the familiar, incessant knocking from his best friend. He truly loved Rocky's visits, but did he have to knock like that every time?
No! He did it specifically to needle at Grace.
Simon chuckled as Grace gave another dramatic sigh—though he was smiling—and stood to open the door.
Beyond said door, there was not only Rocky but also an Eridian from the nutrition team. Grace had named them Dijon after the condiment the color of their carapace reminded him of.
Dijon was holding what looked like a xenonite sculpture in one hand and a weirdly shaped lump in the other.
"You're so lazy," Rocky teased. "Making me wait for ages."
"You're just impatient," Grace shot back. Then, he turned his focus to the other Eridian, saying, "Long time no see. What brings you around Dijon?"
They shifted side to side before holding out the objects in their claws. "Dijon brought $#&*@ gifts for Grace and Simon."
Grace made a mental note to ask Rocky what that word meant later. Currently, he smiled at the sweet Eridian and said, "Thanks! I always appreciate gifts." As he took the xenonite sculpture, Grace had a realization and gasped. "Is this meant to be a sunflower? I love sunflowers! That's so thoughtful! Simon, come look at the sunflower Dijon brought us! This is what yours will look like once they bloom!"
Simon, who had already put his laptop down and was ambling over to the entryway, hummed in reply. He smiled softly at the sculpture, reaching his hand out to caress the different textures.
God, that hand.
No, no, Grace, don't lust after the man's hand!
Plastering a smile back on his face, Grace asked, "And what's that? Some kind of abstract art?"
"It's a heart box," Dijon explained. "That's the human tradition for gifting chocolate."
"A heart? This doesn't look like a—oh. Oh, cheez-its that's a heart heart!" An anatomically accurate human heart. Filled with chocolate apparently.
"I think I heard 'box'?" Simon said. He was trying to learn more Eridian through immersion, which Grace found very admirable. "That's a box? How does it open?"
Twisting the heart, it hissed as it split into two halves. One upper half with the big arteries and veins. One lower that was revealed to have a bunch of brown balls.
When the smell registered, Grace's mouth instantly watered. It hit him then and there that he would have chocolate after over half a decade without it!
He eagerly reached out a hand to take one, but then he hesitated and simply took the two heart pieces in his hand.
"Thank you so so much, guys! This is amazing!" Grace gushed. "I don't want to rush you out the door, so I'll put these away to try later."
"Grace can eat them now," Dijon said, which the human thought was very sweet. Not many Eridians were able to put aside their disgust to let Grace eat near them.
Rocky, however, seemed aghast by that suggestion. Although he had shared a ship with Grace for about five years, he still preferred to be out of earshot when human eating was happening.
"Rocky and Dijon have more work to do," Rocky said forcefully, one claw already on one of Dijon's legs. "Busy busy busy."
While Rocky corralled Dijon away from the house, Grace called after them, "Thanks for stopping by! And for the gifts!"
Once they were a ways away, Grace shut the door with his foot. He then put the heart box down and popped a synthesized chocolate—a faux-colate, if you will—into his mouth.
Grace would admit that he teared up, all sniffly and pathetic at the first taste. The texture was kind of grainy, but the taste—the taste!
"Are you okay?" Simon asked, brows knitted with concern.
Busy savoring the chocolate, Grace merely picked up another and offered it to Simon. The man looked at the food curiously before taking it.
Simon's eyes went wide as he bit into, and he whispered, "Fuck me, that's good!"
They agreed that it would probably be wise to eat the chocolate sparingly because they didn't know how often the Eridians would be able to make it. That being said, they ended up eating half of it in that same afternoon.
****
Rocky yelled at Dijon for a long long long time. About how they were supposed to pretend to court one of the humans, not use this opportunity to be a pervert! Even if they seriously wished to court Grace or Simon, you didn't watch people eat after one gift! Have some motherfucking class!
Dijon tried to reassure Rocky that their interest was purely sexual and wouldn't interfere with a serious courtship.
That was the wrong thing to say.
****
Later—after the larger Eridian laughed heartily at the recounting of this attempt—Adrian listened to Rocky lament about how Grace and Simon didn't even seem to recognize that the gifts were for courting.
They supposed that their humans were used to Eridians giving them gifts. Something more blunt might do the trick. Adrian playfully suggested that they invite Grace to make their duet a trio.
Rocky expressed their disgust at the thought. They love love loved Grace, but not like that! Any pretending on Rocky's part would be too awkward for Grace to believe them.
Bringing in another Eridian meant there was a risk for more perverts.
Adrian commented that it was unfortunate that they couldn't consult with their leading human experts on this. Said humans would be clued into the scheme if Rocky asked them how to stimulate human jealousy.
Based on the chirp Rocky let out, something Adrian said gave them an idea.
****
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S A THIRD HUMAN?!?"
There was a crash behind Grace that was almost definitely Simon dropping his mug, but the teacher couldn't care less about that right now.
"I mean that we found another human," Rocky said as nonchalantly as if he was reporting on the weather. "They were found by the astronomy cluster in a small ship. Unconscious for now."
"Oh my god," Grace said, running a hand through his hair. Another human. What are the odds? Infinitesimal, that's what they were! That they found Simon was already a miracle upon miracles. "Do you think this could be the same phenomenon? Like, a reoccurring wormhole? Maybe, it could connect to Simon's universe."
A cracking sound finally had Grace looking to Simon, who was now kneeled on the ground with his fist curled tightly over shattered porcelain.
All at once, Grace was far less concerned with their mystery third human and more concerned with the blood oozing from Simon's hand.
"Jesus, Simon," Grace said as he covered the man's hand with his own. "Okay, don't look. Don't look, and I'll guide you to Armando."
Simon blinked a few times before focusing on Grace. He seemed to realize what he'd been doing and almost relaxed his fist. Grace gently prompted him to keep it closed for now. It wouldn't be good for Simon to have a panic attack when he saw the blood.
On shaky legs, Simon stood and let Grace guide him to the robot.
After Simon was sat down with Armando, Grace found Rocky again. The Eridian was pushing the shattered porcelain into a small pile. He sang as Grace approached, "Do you have more questions about the new human?"
"You literally haven't answered a single question about them so far. What do we know about how they got here?"
"Not much. It was similar to Simon's vessel. Not there one moment and there the next."
"This is becoming a pattern, and that's concerning," Grace muttered. "I mean, obviously, I don't mind having more human company. I love having Simon here. But, can Erid handle the strain on resources if this keeps happening over and over?"
Rocky shifted side to side before saying, "We will let others worry about that. For now, we are good to care for three humans. That is enough."
"I guess," Grace allowed. It probably wasn't great for him to immediately spiral about this. The Eridians were smart and fair. They would make smart and fair decisions. Grace didn't have to shoulder this.
All he had to do was take care of what he could. Take care of himself, Simon, and welcoming this new human.
Taking a calming breath, Grace said, "So, what is this new human like? You said they're unconscious: is it because of injuries? How's their health?"
The Eridian perked up and said, "New human is very pretty."
"...okay?" What kind of person looked pretty to an Eridian? "Can you tell me more objective facts? Like, physical characteristics and injury count?"
"New human...tall and strong. More round though. Just as leaky. All reproductive organs there," Rocky said haltingly, as if he hadn't really considered it. "Rocky did not ask about injuries."
"All reproductive organs?" Grace repeated. "Like, an intersex person?"
"...yes."
"Okay, that probably wasn't cool for you to tell me, so we'll keep that between you and me. Should I get in contact with the medical team? We'll need to prepare a space for them in the house."
"You're letting them into our house?!?"
Grace jumped at the sudden growl from the doorway. Simon was standing there, newly bandaged hand gripping the doorway.
Worried that Simon might hurt himself, Grace stepped forward and gently pried the other man's hand off. He said in a calm voice, "I know it'll be a bit cramped, but they'll need somewhere to stay until the Eridians can make them a house. Or expand ours."
Simon's face contorted. "You want them to live with us?"
"I don't know!" Grace said defensively. "I'm just trying to take care of them: being in a new place surrounded by aliens is scary! You definitely needed help adjusting."
That made Simon flinch. He had been very volatile those first few weeks, and he had apologized profusely after he finally accepted that he was safe.
Not that Grace blamed him for being twitchy. He arrived covered in blood and heavily injured. That was more than enough of a reason for an adjustment period.
It seemed that the introduction of a new person had Simon on edge though.
In an attempt to look on the bright side, Grace said, "Who knows? You might really like them. They could be from your universe, so you could relate a bit better."
Just saying that made Grace's heart heavy. He imagined a faceless person talking and laughing with Simon, leaving Grace on the fringes of their interactions. He'd always been a third wheel. Always been an odd one out.
Simon of the right now was staring at Grace with wide-eyed disbelief. Maybe, even...fear?
Before Grace could get to the bottom of that though, Rocky loudly chimed in, "Simon could really really really like new human. Perhaps, they could even be mates." Without letting either of them fully process that, Rocky quickly said, "I'll contact the medical team. You don't have to. I'll keep you updated. Bye!" And, he ran off in a hurry.
Rocky always came and went like a hurricane, but he usually hung around more for his visits.
Grace didn't have the bandwidth to analyze that though. They had a new roommate to prepare for.
****
Maybe, this plan could've been better thought through. Rocky was admittedly relying heavily on Grace's trust for them to prop up this lie and hadn't necessarily cleared it with the rest of the biodome team.
Look, Rocky didn't have the time to persuade everyone to lie about a third human! Not everyone understood Rocky's brilliance or shared his daring.
The lie was truly a stroke of genius...up until they had to bring the new human in.
Rocky was hoping that the two humans would get together before that.
He would still have to explain why a new human wasn't showing up though.
...would it be too cruel to tell them that the new human died?
****
Simon had become moody ever since learning about the new human.
Now, Grace wouldn't pretend to be completely normal about it. He was internally freaking out and being even more of a chatterbox than usual. It was a nervous habit, and he was trying to get all of his thoughts organized. Saying them out loud helped.
That being said, Simon—who usually had infinite patience for Grace's rambles—kept getting irritated with him. At least, that was how Grace was interpreting Simon's angry frowns and avoidance of him.
Simon's strange behavior didn't stop there. He was pacing more.
No, pacing wasn't the word for it.
Simon was patrolling. he would pace around the biodome, especially their house, like he was checking things over. Looking for threats.
Grace wasn't sure if Simon was sleeping. He definitely wasn't eating as much. But, Grace noted that one of the kitchen knives was missing.
It was like Simon had reverted back to that scared, mistrustful man that had first arrived on Erid. Grace knew that the universe that Simon came from wasn't exactly friendly, but he hadn't anticipated such a huge reaction to the prospect of another human.
Then again, Grace had expected them to be the only humans on Erid until they died.
Heck, he had never expected Simon in the first place. None of this was in his life plan.
At this point though, Grace was a master of taking what life threw at him. He made preparations for the new human by making a list of supplies to request from the Eridians. He also started to clear out his room in order to let them use his bed. Since they were most likely injured, Grace wouldn't expect them to take the couch.
While he was making up the couch for himself, Simon decided to break his self-imposed silence and asked, "What the fuck are you doing?"
Feeling grumpy at being ignored for days, Grace said, "He speaks! I thought maybe you'd forgotten how."
"Grace, why the fuck are you about to sleep on the couch? You have a bed."
"The new human is injured. Once they're out of medical, I'm going to give them my bed until we figure something else out," Grace explained.
Simon's face pinched. "You're giving them your bed?"
"I can't exactly give them yours."
"You shouldn't give them yours either," Simon said angrily. "They should be grateful if you give them a space on the floor to curl up in."
"Why would anyone sleep on the floor when we have two beds and a couch?" Grace snapped back. "I don't know why you're so angry at me!"
"I'm not angry!"
"Then, why are you yelling?!?"
The man's angry expression flickered, like he hadn't realized what he was doing. Simon slumped an mumbled, "Sorry."
Seeing Simon's defeated posture, the fight left Grace. He sighed and said, "I'm sorry too. I wasn't exactly being pleasant. I just—I know this is stressing you out, and I'm stressed out too. This is an unexpected change. It doesn't have to be a bad one though."
Simon's hand reached to his left side, searching to hold an arm that wasn't there anymore. After his fist curled around air, he looked back up at Grace with a pained expression.
"Hey," Grace said softly. He reached out to Simon, placing his hands on the man's shoulders. "You know you can talk to me about what's worrying you, right? You don't have to deal with this alone."
Though he didn't say anything, Simon did lean into Grace, wrapping his arm around the teacher in a hug that got tighter and tighter. Simon was holding onto him like Grace would fly away if he let go.
Despite not knowing what was wrong, Grace whispered, "It's okay. I've got you. It's okay."
Eventually, Simon mumbled into his shoulder, "They might not be a good person. They might not deserve your bed."
With an acknowledging hum, Grace said, "Everyone deserves to recover in comfort."
"What if they hurt you later? What if they're not grateful and just take everything?"
"They'll have to get through Rocky first," Grace half-joked. But, Rocky would definitely go ballistic on anyone who dared to wrong him.
Simon squeezed him before saying, "Not everyone's a good person."
"I know that."
"If they're from where I'm from, they're definitely not a good person."
"You don't know that," Grace said chidingly. "After all, you're a good person."
There was an actual flinch from Simon. He whined like he'd been wounded and said, "I'm not. I'm not, Grace. I—I—"
"You don't have to tell me," Grace reassured. He knew that it was hard for Simon to talk about his past. The man could scarcely handle telling him about the blood moon. He'd also only given bare facts about the Quiet Rapture and the state it left his universe in.
Simon didn't talk about how he lived or the things he did.
But, Grace had made a few educated guesses. None of them pretty.
"I'm not a good person," Simon whispered against his neck. A scared and small confession, contrasting with Simon's strong frame. "I've killed people. For food, water. Because someone told me to. I—I was a criminal. That's why they sent me to that damned ocean." Grace wasn't sure what to say, but Simon plowed on, "That's why you have to be careful, Grace. They could be like me, a selfish liar who took advantage of you."
"You're not selfish."
"I let you take care of me. Even when I didn't deserve it."
"Everyone deserves to be taken care of," Grace asserted. He pushed on Simon's shoulders. The man made a small noise of protest but let Grace push them apart. His eyes were trained on the floor. "Hey, look at me." Simon's gaze snapped up to him. "You've never taken advantage of me. I wanted to help you."
Tears gathered in Simon's eyes. "You didn't know what I'd done though. You didn't know who you were bringing into your home."
There was a certain truth to what Simon said. Grace had no idea who Simon was when they hauled him out of that bloody submarine. He didn't know that Simon was from another universe with rapidly dwindling resources. He didn't know that Simon had to kill to survive. And, Grace was certain that Simon did it for that reason alone. The guilt on his face was clear as day.
Grace should've been horrified to learn about Simon's past. In a way, he was. He was horrified for Simon, that he had to do those things. Maybe, it was a flaw of Grace's that he saw Simon's suffering more than the suffering of the people he killed. Those people who had lives of their own, tragically cut short.
They weren't in front of Grace though. They weren't the person who shared a home with Grace. Whose big hands tenderly cared for his garden, whose laughter buoyed Grace's mood for days.
Maybe, a good person would've chosen to die rather than kill. In that sense, Grace wasn't a good person either.
"I'm glad I brought you home," Grace admitted. "I—what you've been through sounds awful. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"How can you—?" Simon cut himself off on a sob, the tears in his eyes falling down his cheeks. "How can you still look at me like that? How can you let me stay now that you know I—?"
"I don't know," Grace confessed. "Maybe, it's because I'm selfish too? I mean, I do think you're more than that, more than what you've done. I can't imagine having to make the decisions you did. But, more than that, I just like having you around. I don't ever want you to leave."
Simon's lips collided with Grace's, and it took the teacher a moment to realize that the other man was kissing him.
Well, "kissing" was probably being generous. Simon was messily pressing his lips to Grace's in between sobs and whispers of, "I'm sorry."
It was enough to short-circuit Grace for a good minute though.
When Grace's brain finally rebooted from the shock, he wrapped his arms around Simon and dotted kisses on the crying man's cheeks. "It's okay. It's okay, I'm here."
****
After many tearful kisses—Grace might have also cried—they ended up lying on the couch together, cuddling. Simon laid on top of Grace with his face buried in the teacher's soft sweater.
Grace had dared to run his fingers through Simon's luscious hair, and the way Simon melted into the touch—it made Grace's chest all kinds of warm and fuzzy.
They laid like that for a while. Just basking in each other's presence and touch.
It was when the biodome's evening light turned amber that Simon mumbled another sorry into Grace's clothes.
"I think that's enough apologies for one day."
Simon peeked up at Grace, his eye bloodshot from all of the tears. He guiltily said, "I kissed you."
"And I kissed you back? Should I apologize for that?" Grace asked.
"No," Simon said quickly. "I just—if it's—I don't want it to be something you did because I was crying."
"Oh, Simon, that's not why I kissed you," Grace said. "I've wanted to kiss you for a really long time."
That made the long-haired man perk up. "Really?"
"Really really. I, um, might have a massive crush on you."
"Might?" Simon echoed with a small smile.
Well, it was either a crush, or Grace was completely head over heels. He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that though. Instead, he blushed and said, "Shut up. You like me too."
"Maybe."
Grace frowned, and Simon laughed before pushing himself up to kiss the teacher. This kiss was much more coordinated and languid than the tearful ones. It made Grace feel all tingly.
Once they parted, Simon suddenly said, "You should sleep in my room." He then seemed to realize how that sounded and hurriedly added, "Just to sleep! If we really are letting the new human in the house, I'd feel more comfortable knowing you're safe. And, that way, you don't have to sleep on the couch."
The offer was sorely tempting, but Grace had to warn Simon. "I have bad nightmares sometimes."
"So do I."
"Oh, that makes sense." Grace bit his lip for a moment as he hesitated. There was really no way that he'd pass up that offer though. "Okay. I'd like that."
Simon smiled so beautifully that Grace just had to pull him into another kiss.
****
It was a few days later that Grace followed up with Rocky about the new human.
The Eridian had started to say something, but Adrian had let out a warning tone. Then, Rocky had tilted his carapace down in a sign of remorse and admitted that there was no new human. Grace and Simon listened with shock as Rocky confessed that it had all been a convoluted scheme to push the two into confessing their feelings.
Making eye contact over the apologizing Eridian, Simon and Grace reached a silent agreement: Rocky could never know that his scheme succeeded.
Folding his arms, Grace said, "I'm very disappointed in you, Rock. Me and Simon are adults, and we can handle our own relationship, thank you very much. We actually got together weeks ago."
"WHAT?!?" Rocky exclaimed. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!?"
"We planned to," Simon said. "But, then you brought in news of another human. We thought it was better to wait until things settled again."
Rocky let out frustrated exclamations and swears while Adrian congratulated them on becoming mates.
Later, once they were certain Rocky had left, Simon admitted, "I actually was jealous."
"Why?" Grace asked. "We never even met the fake human."
"I know. I just kept imagining you taking care of them the way you took care of me, all gentle and patient. Drove me crazy."
Some part of Grace was pleased with the admission, that Simon liked him that much, and it made him braver. He said, "I was actually worried that you'd get along with them better than you did with me."
"Why would you worry about that?"
"That's what always happens. I'm the odd one left out."
"Even with Rocky?"
"Okay, Rocky's an exception," Grace conceded with a smile.
"I'm one too," Simon declared, wrapping his arms around Grace's waist. "I like you more than anyone I've ever met."
Blushing, Grace hid his face in the crook of Simon's neck. Unable to look directly at the affectionate gaze Simon directed at him.