Chapter Text
The lull of the waves is the sound Grace wakes up to every morning.
It sounds like home.
With every rise and crash of the water, pushing the smell of salt into the air, Grace can feel this rightness settle into his chest. He belongs here. Gosh, he loves Erid.
Grace once ached to return to Earth. Every moment aboard the Hail Mary, he yearned to return home. Who would’ve thought that an alien planet would fill that hole inside him? It was almost comedic–he felt as if he belonged here more than he did among humans. Sure, he missed Earth sometimes–the smell of the rain (the Eridians were working on that though), that one sandwich shop across the street from Grover Cleveland Middle, and most of all: people.
Well, human touch specifically. Companionship… just the thought of not being completely alone.
Skin against skin. Another body against his. The weight of another living, breathing person with him. Even the brush of a fingertip against his own would be enough to satisfy this craving.
“Rocky can give hug.”
“It’s not the same, bud,” Grace explains with a melancholy smile. He loves Rocky. Of course, he does. Rocky is easily the best thing that has ever happened to Grace. But, unfortunately, hugging Rocky isn’t the same as hugging another human… Gosh, he misses it so badly.
Sometimes the irony is almost funny. The guy who yearns for human connection more than anyone else would be the one sent off into space.
The one to wake up completely alone.
Living on an alien planet light-years from any other humans.
Grace pretends it doesn’t bother him, at least when Rocky asks about it. There’s no point in dwelling on something impossible.
Rocky worries anyway.
And Grace totally didn’t cry when Rocky gifted him a stuffed animal (actually, a stuffed human, but Grace thought that sounded too weird). It was tiny, but soft. None of the colors matched at all, but he didn’t care. It was simultaneously the sweetest, but strangest thing anyone had done for Grace.
He cherished it with his whole heart.
Rocky said Grace could hug it and he would feel better. Grace tries his best, but he still ends up going to sleep curled in on himself, stifling tears. He is so utterly alone.
Touch-starved. That’s the proper terminology.
But some things just can’t be recreated. And, honestly, Erid is great. Grace almost couldn’t believe he had spent half his time aboard the Hail Mary just begging the universe to send him home–to Earth. Turns out, the universe had different plans. Home hasn't been Earth all along. It was some planet light-years away inhabited by living rocks.
Grace couldn’t be happier. For the most part.
After living on Erid for about a year and a half, it is almost unrecognizable from when he first arrived. The Eridians had expanded the biodome significantly and grown a forest with several species of plants.
No matter how many times Grace had insisted that this was all completely unnecessary, Rocky ignored him. Rocky kept pushing to make the bio dome as Earth–like as possible. Grace couldn’t complain.
The artificial sun rises and that familiar, warm, golden glow follows, light beams spilling through the Xenonite windows and painting his home in honey. It also illuminated the stashes of completely random items that Grace has abandoned in various corners of the house.
His lips twist upwards into a soft, yet sincere smile. Gosh, I really need to get myself together. The mess felt… nice though. It was organized chaos, per say. It made Grace’s home feel more lived in. More real.
Grace made himself breakfast quickly (the Eridians had somehow managed to perfect human food, despite not quite understanding human taste). Fudge, he had so much to thank the Eridians for. He didn’t even know how they were able to make food that was so divine, while also containing every possible nutrient Grace could need.
He had gotten scurvy on the way to Erid… it was not fun. He definitely did not want a repeat of that experience. Thank you, Eridians!
Today was the Eridian equivalent of the weekend, so Grace didn’t have to attend class, instead opting to grade some work from the Pebbles because what’s more fun than that! The moment his pencil touched the paper, he was interrupted by a familiar voice chirping loudly.
“GRACE! GRACE COME! ERIDIAN RESEARCH TEAM FOUND SOMETHING!”
Grace groans, rubbing his hands over his face before letting them sink into his hair, fisted into the wild, golden strands. The amount of times Rocky interrupted Grace’s work just to show up at his door and yell about complete nonsense was ASTOUNDING. You would think that having the entire bio-dome to himself would ensure some privacy… but no.
“Rocky can hear Grace talking to himself. Come! Right now!”
“Coming, Rock!“ Grace calls, secretly thankful for a distraction from work. He stands, feeling his bones creak under the gravity. He contemplates grabbing his cane, but shrugs. He doesn’t need it. This should be a quick talk—
“HURRY, SLOW HUMAN. IMPORTANT.” Rocky yells again, the melodic chirps exploding through the air. What could POSSIBLY be so important? Maybe Ivy’s pebbles finally hatched—
Grace opens the front door, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, with a sly smile, “Good morning to you too, Rocky!”
Rocky stands freakily still, before speaking, “The Eridian research team found a human.” He stomps his feet, dancing in place. He sings, “MATE FOR GRACE!”
For a split second, Grace stops breathing. His eyes widen, forehead creasing before he stumbles forward, sputtering, “W-what?” This is not what I expected to hear.
His brain races a million miles per hour. Oh my gosh. A human?! Before he can process what’s happening, all his thoughts come tumbling out of his mouth at once.
“A human? Are you sure? Fudge. Where did you find them? Where are they now?!”
“Grace heartbeat speeding up. Calm down.”
Fudge. The collar of Grace’s shirt is fisted in his hand, the rapid stuttering of his heart thrumming beneath his skin. His breath exits his lips in an unsteady gasp.
Rocky skitters past Grace, who’s freaking out more than ever, and into Grace’s house.
“Grace, sit. Calm down.” Rocky gestures with one of his arms to the couch. Grace steadies himself and goes back inside, closing the door behind him. He sits on the couch, his heart still racing.
“The new human is coming here.”
Grace’s eyes widen. Well, wow. O-kay. Grace’s brain glitches. What do I even do? How do I act around them? Where did they come from?!
Rocky makes a disappointed chirp and murmurs, “Dirty,” gesturing to the entire house.
He throws his arms up, exasperatedly, “I wasn’t expecting company!” He pauses, and then groans, throwing his head back, “Fudge… Rocky, how much time do I have to clean before the human gets here?”
“Oh, Grace, don’t worry. The human is unconscious. Have lots of time to clean up before they wake up.”
“Rocky! That’s essential information!” Grace sputters, his head falling into his hands. Oh my gosh oh my gosh…