Chapter Text
There's a door set into one of the rock formations in the biodome. It has a set of stone stairs leading down to it, "like the basement door in Home Alone!" as Grace had put it. The door itself is smooth, similar in appearance to the front door to Ryland's their home, but without the glass, and made out of a subtly different material. It doesn't lead anywhere, when it's open you see a flat rock wall, the same kind as what the door it's self is set into. Simon once asked Grace about it, and he was only told that it was the result of an inside joke between Ryland and Rocky.
Sometimes Simon swears that he hears something on the other side. The sounds of someone walking past. He spent weeks trying to ignore it on his way between the home he shares with the only other human on Erid and the greenhouse filled with both useful and decorative plants. He had decided to bring a pothos cutting home for Grace's office, and was walking past the false door when it suddenly swung open.
The moment Simon realized what had happened, he froze, staring down at the now open door. There was what looked to be a teenaged girl standing in the doorway looking up, just as shocked as him. Behind her he could vaguely see the inside to what he guessed was the inside of her home. She, still in shock, slowly closed the door.
Simon promptly freaked the fuck out.
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Alex is bored.
There isn't really much to do around the house. She's already done most of her chores for the day, just waiting on one last load of clothes to finish. She doesn't want to watch anything. She doesn't have anything to read that she feels like she can actually focus on. She doesn't have anything planed for the day, she's not going anywhere, and no one is coming over. Her parents W̴͒ͅh̴͕̓ÿ̷̻́ ̸̨̄d̴͚̾ó̶̜e̷͇͊s̴͕̀ ̵̮͘ť̷̡h̷͇̋ȧ̵̢ț̷̆ ̶̪͋f̸̲̚ę̴̽e̶̢͝l̶̤̀ ̴̻̔w̸̤͒r̸̗͂o̸̦͛ǹ̶̤g̴͎͗?̵̛͔ are going to take her grocery shopping tomorrow, but she has enough food until then. All the bills and taxes are handled by them as well, despite Alex knowing perfectly well how to do them.
"Why is being an adult so boring?" She sighs," …There is that door… No. No, no. You were told not to open it. There's probably a good reason for that… probably."
Ī̷̹t̸̩͝ ̴͉͒n̶̥͒e̵̝̕e̶̹͊ḋ̵͖s̴͔̃ ̵̣̑t̵̼̚o̶͔̎ ̶̩͆b̸̠̽e̷͇̍ ̷̭̓õ̷̬p̸̰̃ě̷̜n̸̲̊e̴̟̓d̶̮̾.̸̨̊ "Why though? Why can't I just listen this time?" She stands and begins moving to her room.
Ȋ̷̙t̸̫̚'̵͓͌ś̶͉ ̶̫̊i̸͗͜m̷̰͒p̵̧͒o̷̢͛ŕ̷̙t̸͖́ḁ̷̇n̷̥̕t̶̢̔.̸̥͠ "Why? Why is so important that I open that door? It's just a utility closet."
I̶̦͑ṫ̶͔'̸̩̉s̴̨̒ ̶̘͋e̴͘ͅv̷̪̋e̵͚͝r̴̝̉ỷ̶̡t̶̲̆h̷̦̿i̵͇̽n̷̛̥g̸̩̈́.̴̜̏ "If I open it will you shut up?"
Silence. "I'll take that as a yes." She sighs," Guess I'm breaking the one rule I was given." She continues in the direction she was already headed, coming to a stop in front of a, quite frankly, plain, boring door.
It's just to shut it up. Then I can go… rearrange my room or something.
She grabs the doorknob and twists it, pushing the door at the same time.
It swings open.
She freezes.
Stone steps?
She looks slightly up towards the top of the stairs.
There's a man holding a potted plant.
T̶̺̽̒h̷̳̩͇̓e̵͚͘ ̴̩̠̂́G̷̗̐͊͊a̸͇͉͔̾̏͝ṙ̵̡d̷͕͖͕̈́̇̉ę̶̻̫͋̆͗ň̸̘͎̜͒e̷̙̥̓͂̈r̷̨̈̚.̵̝̩͚͑̓
She stares at him in complete bewilderment for a moment.
She shuts the door.
Pauses for a second.
And promptly decides nope. Not my problem.