Work Text:
Of course.
It makes sense now, how he ended up here, why the entire crew had been made up of bear shifters and no other kind - Still, it’s a tough thing for Grace to come to terms with remembering on their journey to Erid.
The more he remembers of his last days on Earth, the more his mood seems to sour - And he refuses to tell Rocky. He doesn’t want his best friend, now his only friend, to realise he’s a coward after all they’ve been through together, that he wasn’t initially a member of the main crew and hadn’t wanted to become one when tragedy struck.
While he lays trembling in his bear form listening to the sounds of nature playing around, he can’t help but yearn for his home. It’s overcoming, the feeling that he hadn’t appreciated his planet enough while he was still on it, despite playing an active part in trying to save it through his study of astrophage, through his assistance with other parts of the project.
With his position, with his condition as a shifter, he was always going to be third choice, and Stratt had known. She knew when she gave him the darkest room on the Vat to sleep in, she knew when she ran health checks to ensure both his human and bear forms were in peak condition, she knew when…
Feeling something solid and warm pet his head, Grace opens tearful eyes to find Rocky crouched in front of him on the walkway of the Mental Health Node. He chuffs, wiping at his eyes with the back of a big paw.
“Grace misses Earth. Understand, understand.” The Eridian coos softly, claw coming up to scratch behind his ear. “Not need to hide from when sad feeling, statement.”
But how can Rocky ever truly know without Grace telling him? Why shouldn’t he hide away when he feels such an intense shame and guilt, especially after Rocky had told him he would be hailed as a hero on Erid?
He doesn’t want to be a hero anywhere, honestly. He only wants to be.
Be. Bee. Honey.
Stupid bear brain. God, but he does miss honey…
Groaning softly, Grace shifts to curl up, holding his stomach as it rumbles. His food supply is ever dwindling, which doesn’t help his terrible mood these days at all.
“Will be okay,” Rocky continues to reassure him as he huddles in close, loafing up against Grace’s fur. “Erid will make Grace amaze habitat, just like home. Will make lots of food too. Take best care of Grace, to say thank you for save us.”
He doesn’t deserve it. He should have been the one stranded in space, and Rocky should have gone home on his own… but Grace knows it would never have turned out that way.
Brave or not, it seems they’ll always choose each other when the stakes are high. He doesn’t know if that’s entirely healthy, but it is comforting.
So, for now, he chooses to remain calm. He rests an arm over Rocky’s xenonite ball and sighing, lets his eyes fall closed again. He’ll be hibernating again soon enough, whether he likes it or not. The question is whether he’ll wake again…