Chapter Text
Dr. Ryland Grace had adapted to the scarred man with the tree trunk for an arm. In fact, he had accepted his proposal and gotten married to him four months ago, that’s how well he adapted.
After two years on the Eridian planet with Grace, Simon had bashfully decided it was the only logical step. The two men loved each other very dearly, and while they were the only two humans(ish) on a planet full of sentient rocks, they both could not have imagined being in love with anyone else.
Simon was Grace’s companion, his one light in a life that had been far too terrible to them both. They had each other, and that was all they would ever need. Exactly one other human, for all the love and touch and tears and humanity that came with it.
The pair could not have kids, they knew that. But, Grace had his students and they both felt content, satisfied with that.
But, their quiet peace together was jostled by a scream of utter horror from inside their living room on a lazy Saturday morning.
The day had started out completely slothily. Grace had woken up next to Simon, and curled himself into his companion, lying there until his husband would lazily open his eyes and lean into Grace.
“We should get up.” Simon had announced.
“Nah.” Grace murmured, curling in tighter.
“Don’t you have tests to grade?” Simon had chuckled.
Grace had groaned. “No such thing.”
“Come on, stay? Just a little while longer.” He pleaded, looking up at his husband.
“Fine.” Simon relented, huffing. “You are a bad influence.”
“And you married me for it.” Grace grinned.
After a few entwined heartbeats had passed, a thud was heard from inside their living room
“What was that?” Simon whispered, immediately sitting up, alert.
Grace sat up too, but slower, and rubbed his eyes blearily. “Probably Rocky, you’d think he’d get boundaries by now.” He fumbled for his glasses on the nightstand.
Then, she screamed.
It wasn’t just a scream of terror, it was one of innate, nauseating, tragedy. It was sobbing devolved into hoarse horror. More to their fear, it was a young woman’s scream.
It was a scream that rattled both of the men so thoroughly that they leapt out of bed and skittered into their Eridian-designed living room, only to find a black-haired, drawn on, and drenched in blood, young woman holding her knees into her chest, screaming a feral noise of utter loss.
…
If Nikki Freeman had a choice, she would’ve…
What a terrible half-thought. If Nikki had a choice. If Nikki Freeman had been able to choose. If Nikki Freeman hadn’t been confined to a prison inside her own body. If Nikki had an ounce of autonomy.
She hadn’t, though.
Nikki hadn’t had a choice.
She killed her friend with her own two hands. She had felt the blood splatter against the brick and she had felt sickeningly happy about it. She had shot her other friend, and his blood was pooling on the carpet.
She was covered in their blood.
Why hadn’t anyone seen that something was wrong? Why didn’t anyone try to help her?
She rotted in her own body. Like a piece of fruit, an object to be devilishly eaten, enjoyed, and then left to rot. She had rotted away, not even Nikki anymore, rather left for the mushrooms and returned to the earth.
Bear was dead, choked on his own vomit. Sarah’s desecrated carcass was in his living room. Ian was shot a few feet away. She was alone. Her body hurt. She had mutilated it—her own body and she had no control over that, but she had known he wanted it. What he wanted, that’s all she knew– for months. She had nothing. Not even her own body remained hers. So Nikki Freeman sat there, in her beloved tormentor’s living room, screaming until her body would give in.
She held herself and wished that she was away, far away.
Then, she was not in Bear’s living room. She was in someone else’s. When she looked up, there was glass and there was an endless sky. That was not her sun.
Nikki Freeman began to scream again.
…
“Hey, Hey. Hey. Are you- can you hear me?” Grace tried urgently, holding his hands up to her, showing his palms.
The girl stopped screaming, but huge tears kept falling. She nodded, and swallowed hard.
“Where am I?” She asked hoarsely, quickly, placing her bare hands on the ground and subtly sliding herself backwards, away from the pair.
“You are in our living room on the planet of Erid, a planet inhabited by mostly Eridians aside from myself and my companion. It orbits the primary star 40 Eridani A.” Simon said, keeping his voice low and steady. He crouched down to her, maintaining eye-contact.
“I- I’m not on Earth?” The girl asked, visibly trembling, eyes still drowned with tears.
“No. No you are not.” Simon confirmed, nodding once.
The girl curled inwards again, “Am I being punished?” She whispered, looking up once at Simon.
“No.” Simon said sternly, and with finality.
Grace smiled, every so subtly, ever so inappropriately. Simon did not know this visibly distraught girl, and yet he was willing to promise her that she was still good, that she was still human, that this was not her punishment. Grace had seen him reconcile that within his own self, and it was a marvel to see his husband reflect his own unique light on other
The girl opened her mouth, “But- I - I-”
“You can tell us about that later, I promise. First, are you injured? ” Grace asked, crouching down to meet her.
She shook her head, “This isn’t- This isn’t my blood.” She whispered, holding up her hands to shakily study them.
Grace nodded, smiling kindly, “Okay. That’s good. Would you like to take a shower, or just talk first?”
“I- Just talk.” She said firmly, shifting her body.
“Alright. Let’s just talk.” Grace agreed.
“Why don’t we start with names?” Simon added, planting himself criss-crossed on the ground.
She nodded, slowly, almost dazedly. “I’m - everyone calls me Nikki.”
“I’m Simon.”
“I’m Ryland- but everyone calls me Grace.”
…
Nikki explained everything, from the very beginning. She needed to, before anything else could happen. She needed to say it. The willow branch, Bear’s change in her, her chemically altered, physical need for Bear, Bear, Bear’s face as he was terrified, her begging for death, her Sarah, the end, and the alone.
She hadn’t cried while re-telling it, not once, until Sarah. She was a monster, a horrible monster who could not even control her body enough to not murder other humans. She had killed Sarah, what a horrible monster she was.
She couldn’t even smudge her tears, because the only thing that her hands would swipe away was the sticky, hot blood that did not belong to her.
The two men had very different reactions.
Simon looked starkly vengeful, fists clenched, face pale, brows furrowed. But, it was an unfocused rage, not for her, but for someone, or something else.
The man called Grace was just pale, white pale, sick pale.
“I’m so sorry. I - I can’t believe that someone could do something like that to you. I- I- Nikki, I am so sorry.” He apologised shakily, removing his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Simon placed a heavy hand on his companion’s shoulder.
Nikki felt her face heat up and her eyes well again. She looked away. “I suppose it is for the best that I’m not at home anymore. I don’t know what kind of lawyer could get me out of jail after - after what I- after what happened.” She tried, but her voice broke.
“Nikki, would you like a hug?” Grace asked, softly.
Nikki opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Permission. He was asking for permission. In all her life, from the second she got remotely pretty, guys would not waste a second in clamoring to get their hands on her. They tried to hug her on any occasion, kiss her drunkenly and blame it on alcohol, just plain grope her in a bar and blame it on the lighting, and not once– in a very very long time– had someone asked her permission to touch her, to show her affection.
Nikki bobbed her head. She would very much like a hug.
Grace carefully wound his arms around her, uncaring about the blood.
Nikki’s lip began to quiver once again.
…
The convict in Simon immediately began categorizing the information for Nikki as it came.
Nikki was 23. She was utterly traumatized by a coworker named Bear who had revoked her sense of autonomy for a full month with a mystical item called a ‘One Wish Willow’-- “What’s so bad about being with me?” That made Simon literally shake with rage.
Nikki hadn’t done a single thing wrong, her only crime was being someone’s crush. In fact, Nikki had been willing to let herself die, simply because she did not want someone else to, she was that caring of a person.
And, by some unknown gift, she was brought to them on the planet Erid.
After a few moments, she let go, and so did Grace.
“So, um where are we, really? Not Earth?” Nikki asked, swallowing hard.
Simon shook his head, disdainfully.
“Have you ever heard of me?” Grace asked, cocking his head.
“No. Sorry.” Nikki shook her head, looking down.
“Nikki, what year is it on Earth?” Grace tried again.
“2025.” She looked confused, but didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Is your Antarctica still intact?”
Nikki almost smiled, “Yeah.”
Grace looked at Simon urgently. Simon wasn’t from his husband’s Earth either. But, for him, there hadn’t been an Earth in a long time. And while his husband saved the stars, it just wasn’t in time to reach his world.
“Why?” Nikki asked cautiously.
Grace opened his mouth, but Simon held up his hand.
“Wait. Nikki, I promise we will figure out the best way to describe what happened, I promise we’ll figure it out, but would you like a change of clothes first? We have a shower down the hall and I’ll grab you a change of clothes from down the hall. You can stay there as long as you want. We’ll be here when or if you want to talk more, but you should be comfortable.”
Nikki nodded, “yeah okay.”
“I’ll grab you something to wear.” Grace volunteered, springing up, leaving the two of them on the floor.
The pair waited in silence for a beat, before Nikki asked, “How do you two know each other?”
“Grace is my husband.” Simon said, smiling patiently, flashing his wedding band.
Nikki let out a breath. “Oh. That actually - that makes me feel a lot better.”
Simon winced. Of course she would want to ensure that the two guys whose home she showed up in wouldn’t want her romantically- especially not after what just happened to her.
He rubbed the back of neck, “Yeah, It’s a long story, so is my arm, but we found each other here, and we’re happy.”
Nikki smiled, but it fell quickly.
Grace walked back over and Simon stood to join him. He held out his hand for Nikki to pull herself up with.
She hesitantly took it, and found her solid legs after a moment.
“Nikki, the bathroom is just down the hall. I placed a change of clothes and a towel in there for you. Take as long as you need.” Grace informed, his wary smile lines showing.
Nikki nodded, and thanked them politely. As she started walking, Simon found his voice again.
“Hey, Nikki. You- I just want you to know that you are safe here. Nothing will happen to you, and when you feel ready, we can talk more. But, if you just need space, that’s perfectly understandable.”
Nikki nodded. “Thank you.” She whispered, then she disappeared into the bathroom.
…
Nikki recognized herself. Of course she had. She had spent time meticulously altering her body, drawing on Sarah’s tattoos, chopping off her long hair, just trying to make her face look like hers.
Nikki was so drenched in blood, she looked like a violent creature– a monster. How did those two men trust her for an instant? Obviously she had the look of someone who could not be trusted.
She turned her head, and neatly placed on a shelf was the aforementioned change of clothes. Clearly it was men's clothes, but she couldn’t even fathom caring.
She cried in the shower when all the blood dripped off of her. She didn’t really feel like she could ever be clean enough. She still smelled Sarah’s death on her.
Oh Sarah’s dad. He would wake up to find that his daughter- oh Sarah was going to art school, did anyone else know that? She felt sick. Did she have anything anymore? Her mind was so loud and the blood kept gushing from inside her hair.
So, Nikki just cried. She scrubbed away at the sharpie marks that mimicked Sarah’s tattoos and she sobbed.
…
Grace immediately called Rocky, explaining everything in their minimized vocabulary. He explained the girl, explained that their food sources would have to be altered to add another stomach. He also invited Rocky over to meet Nikki.
Rocky was confused, and Grace explained that he was too, but they would do their best to accommodate.
“So. Holy shit.” Grace started, when it was just him and Simon.
“No kidding.” Simon said, shaking his head.
“Poor girl.” Grace sighed, letting his head fall in his hands.
“If I ever see whoever Bear is, I’m killing him. With my hands.” Simon said, gritting his teeth.
“Hey, my love, what are we going to do with her?” Grace asked, placing his hand on Simon’s.
“She’s never heard of me, and her Antarctica is still there. She’s from a different Earth. I mean- we knew the multiverse was possible but– god, poor girl.” Grace frowned, biting the inside of his cheek.
“We’ll figure it out. You are the smartest guy I know, aside from every single Eridian. You’ll figure something out. For now, we go day by day.”
Grace grinned. “Day by day, huh. Wait- aside from every Eridian!” He frowned and flicked Simon’s ear.
Simon chuckled. “Apology breakfast?”
“It’s the least you could do.” Grace said indignantly.
Simon stood up and planted a kiss on his husband’s forehead. “I’ll make pancakes.”
When Nikki emerged, in loose-fitting space-comfortable clothes, her skin was red from scrubbing. Her eyes were red too, and she tugged at her eyelashes to hide it. Her hair, which seemed to have been hacked off at different angles, was soaked on her shoulders.
The clothes she was wearing belonged to an Astronaut who had not made it out of cryo on Grace’s ship, but that didn’t need to be mentioned now. Besides, it fit her better than any of Grace’s clothes would.
“Hey, Simon’s making breakfast!” Grace greeted cheerfully.
Nikki nodded, then meekly asked “Do you guys have a hairbrush, and maybe scissors? My hair – It’s a little…” She trailed off.
“Yeah! Of course!” Grace piped up brightly, then took off to grab it.
“He’s chipper, huh?” Nikki asked, eyeing Grace.
Simon chuckled. “You have no idea.”
He cautiously cracked a few eggs into a bowl, moving in a well-built flow.
“So, are you guys ready to tell me what the Hell is happening?” Nikki frowned.
Simon lifted his eyes, “I’m unprepared to make a statement without Grace present, but it’s not all bad news. You want to fill up this cup with water?” He asked, quickly handing her a measuring cup.
Nikki shrugged and nodded, and moved over to the sink.
“Can you also rinse off the blueberries in the fridge?” Simon added, swiping the now full cup of water from her hands.
“How do you have blueberries if we aren’t on Earth?” Nikki asked skeptically, but obliged him.
Simon grinned. “I’m a really good botanist, and Grace’s ship sent seeds. What about you, what are you good at?”
Nikki locked her eyes on the blueberries and the rapidly dirtying water that swished around in the bowl.
“I wanted to be a writer.” She said, with an ounce of finality, draining the bowl in a fluid motion.
“Grace is going to love to hear that.” Simon smiled wistfully. “He loves books a whole lot more than I ever will.”
“You have books here?” Nikki cocked her head, handing him the blueberries.
Simon nodded, “We are rapidly running out of material for him. I’m sure it would be the best day ever for him to receive new writing.”
Simon whisked together the final mixture, then poured it onto the pan, carefully adding his blueberries.
“What are Eridians?” She asked, leaning on the counter.
“Aliens. But, nice aliens?” Simon answered. “I promise Grace will have a better answer.
Nikki let out a bewildered laugh.
“Do you guys have instruments, like musical instruments up here?”
“Yes, but Grace, quite frankly, sucks. So, if you are any better, I’d really love to hear it.”
Nikki giggled, “I’m okay.”
Simon smiled softly and flipped his first pancake.
“Haha!” He cheered valiantly. “Look at that, golden brown!” He pointed to his first pancake victoriously.
“Impressive.” Nikki grinned.
Grace came skittering back into the kitchen, holding a pair of scissors and a still-packaged hairbrush.
He placed them down on the countertop carefully. “Here, if you want them.” He added, cautiously.
“Pancakes and Eridians?” Grace asked, adjusting his glasses.
Simon nodded. Grace launched into the story of Project Hail Mary.
“So. You are from a different Earth than me.” Nikki recapped, taking a bite from her pancakes.
“That’s right.” Grace nodded.
“Your Earth drugged you and sent you into space to save the stars, and your Earth,” she said pointing to Simon, “Sent you on a suicide mission in a blood ocean, with an entity that mutated your arm into a tree?”
“Yes.” Simon nodded.
“Grace found a sentient Rock named Rocky– from the planet Erid- actually called Eridians. The two of them found a way to prevent the extinction of humans and came back to Erid, where you two both reside. Simon came later, after the Eridians found what remained of his ship and sawed him away from it. Now you two are married. You two have no idea why I am here.” Nikki concluded.
Grace smiled sheepishly. “That summarizes it!”
“You have to be fucking with me.” She deadpanned.
“Well, Rocky is supposed to come over soon. So, at least that part you’ll see.” Grace grinned cheerfully, rubbing the back of his head.
“Also, we have a separate room for you. I used to sleep there, but not anymore, not for a long time. It’s down the left hallway” Simon added.
Nikki nodded, then shoved her now-empty plate away. “Okay. Thank you for the pancakes. I am going to take a nap. I- I just need a nap.” She stood and walked away, taking the scissors and the hairbrush with her.
“Sounds good. We’re just going to speak with the Eridians. We’ll still be here when you wake up!” Grace called out.
Nikki paused and turned around. “Do you guys swear you aren’t like a creepy alien cult that is going to sacrifice me in my sleep. I - Am I safe here?” She asked, her tone switching rapidly from lighthearted to vulnerable.
“Yes.” Simon answered immediately. “I swear it.”
NIkki nodded and shot him a polite smile before turning off onto the hall.
Then, when she turned the corner, Grace slumped forward. “Man, my charm gets rough when it comes to adult victims of trauma.”
Simon chuckled and brushed his hair out of his face, “It worked on me.”
A few hours passed, Grace had been off to organize a series of materials for Nikki from the recovered materials of his fallen former astronauts. Simon sat on the couch, carefully writing down an alternate harvest schedule calculated for an additional stomach.
Grace flopped down next to his husband, leaning his head on his shoulder. Simon put down his writing materials to wrap his arm around Grace, a paused moment of rest for the both of them.
…
Nikki had fitful bouts of rest. Sleep had never come easy to her, and when she was with the Bear, the entity- or the other her- would force her asleep during the day and it could stay awake to watch Bear. When the other girl did sleep, she was awake.
It was hard to sleep when she kept feeling Sarah’s blood in her hands.
Eventually, she just gave up and started walking around the room. There was a simple light switch by the door. There was a desk and a plain chair, there were no papers inside the desk. There was a stack of blank papers and pens on the side. The bed was a twin bed- like a college dorm- she had never gone though. She often thought of her life if she had. There was a full length mirror, a nightstand, and an empty closet- aside from a few hangers- also located in the room. It was sparse, almost bleak- nothing remained from the previous user.
Nikki sighed, grabbed the scissors and hair brush and plopped down by the mirror, taking to trying to make her hair look slightly normal. She brushed it out, tying off sections and making slow cuts.
She did this before. She was the entity, there wasn’t really a difference. It was her– but she would never do that. She tried to brush off the thought, but her hands were shaking and she cut too sharp. She made a noise of frustration and tried to even it out, failing again.
She threw the scissors down in anger, tears hitting her like a freight train. Would this be her life forever? Would she always be ruined? How would she fix herself if she couldn’t even do this right? She buckled over, hiding her face in her legs, holding the scissors with white knuckles.
A soft knock came at the door, and a gentle pause followed.
Nikki exhaled hard and sat up, smudging her tears. “Yes?”
Simon spoke, softly, cautiously, “Can I come in?”
Nikki sighed, “Sure.”
Simon gracefully opened the door, glancing at the scissors and the hair scattered around her before settling on her face. She averted her gaze, unable to find words.
“I know how to cut hair.” Simon said quietly.
Nikki let go of the scissors and nodded once.
He crouched over to her, picking up the scissors and making even, wordless, and careful cuts.
After a while, he spoke, “It was hard at first. I thought I would never be able to do anything alone. But I had Grace, who not only helped me when I didn’t ask for it, but saw me understand what I could do alone.” He said, keeping his eyes locked on her hair.
Nikki swallowed hard.
“Nikki, this isn’t the end of you.” He stated softly, as if it were fact.
A tear rolled down her face, but she bobbed her head.
He placed her last bit of hair down. “Is that okay?” He asked, looking to her for approval.
She glanced in the mirror, the hair went a little past her shoulder- shorter, but it was perfectly even. In a month or two it would be back to normal.
She blinked hard. “Thank you, Simon.”
He smiled, “Of course.”
He stood to leave, then paused.
“Would you like me to show you the instruments?”
Nikki nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.
…
Nikki and Simon were in one of the other buildings on their grounds while Grace remained inside, grading tests- preserving normalcy.
He was shaken from his work by a thud- once again- terrifyingly-from their living room.
Grace stood and rushed in, only to find a young, disheveled, foreign man hunched over in his living room.
Grace almost laughed from the ridiculousness- how many more times would this happen? Would they die from overpopulation? What was happening- they’d barely scratched the surface with Nikki, now what?
His anxieties were quickly thrown away by the young man choking.
The young man took short, desperate, lungfuls of air in, collapsing into his hands and knees. He dug his fingernails into the ground in a horrible, contorting way, and it took a moment for Grace to find his voice.
“Woah. Hey, can you hear me?” Grace asked, keeping his voice low and steady.
The young man nodded slightly, but that did not stop his desperate clawing for lungfuls of air. He was hyperventilating now.
“Hey. You’re okay. You’re safe now. Nothing can hurt you here.” Grace said slowly, crouching down to look at him.
“You’re okay. I promise.” He added.
The young man took several long breaths, choking them down, then he swallowed.
He looked up at Grace and sat back.
He smiled with unease, “Hey man, I’m Bryan.”