Chapter Text
Adrian’s declaration had made me burst into tears.
Because you are Grace.
It was four words, but those four words erased the massive amounts of dread that had been building up over this moment.
For the past four years, I had been dreading the day when Adrian saw their mating stone to Rocky on my arm.
I had been so worried Adrian would hate me. That as soon as they saw it on me, they would punt me back out into space.
Over time, my fears had lessened as I got to know Adrian through Rocky’s shared memories, but there was always that tendril of doubt and uncertainty.
And then we finally arrived on Erid, and the moment came when I had to show Adrian my markings.
I had been expecting a lot of different reactions from Adrian. Anger, disgust, offence, confusion, hatred, even fear.
What I hadn’t been expecting was open acceptance and even joy. They were happy I had their mating stone. They were happy I was connected to them.
So, of course, I was crying!
“Oh, no!” Adrian panics, whistling loudly. “You are leaking! Rocky say heightened emotions are regulated through leaking! I make Grace upset, question?! Am so sorry!”
“Not sad leak. Happy leak,” I assure Adrian through my tears. “Happy, happy, happy.”
“Grace gets emotional when you say nice things to him,” Rocky explains.
“Really?”
“Yes. Grace struggles with being told nice things about himself. It’s part of the low self-esteem thing he’s got going on.”
Okay. Wow. Didn’t need to call me out like that, Rock.
“I was not trying to compliment. I was saying truth,” Adrian speaks inquisitively. Eridians may not have faces, but I’ve been around Rocky long enough to pick up on their body language. Right now, I could tell Adrian’s attention was solely focused on me. Uh oh. I do not like that metaphorical look. Adrian is definitely analysing me. “Grace not get compliments often, question?”
“More than used to,” I answer carefully.
“Grace did not get a lot of positive affirmation from other humans back on Earth. We worked on it lots on our way here, and Grace is much, much better at accepting compliments or nice words from me. But it’s different when it’s someone else," Rocky supplies.
Dude. Calling me out left and right here.
“Understand. I will make sure to say more nice things to Grace. Grace deserve to hear nice things, statement,” Adrian chirps. Another wave of tears causes me to sniffle loudly, and Adrian laughs. “You were right when you said Grace leak often!”
“Can’t help! Nice words make me leak!” I defend myself.
“I was only saying truth,” Adrian points out. I rub the tears from my face and sniffle.
“Thank, thank, thank,” I croak.
“Alright, there there, Grace,” Rocky trills, patting my back. “We need to get back to the debrief soon.”
“I know, I know,” I say, wiping my face and pulling myself together. “Okay. I think I’m ready now.”
“Amaze! Let’s return,” Rocky chirps. “I want to finish so we can go home.”
“I hold?” Adrian asks, gliding up to me.
“Uh, okay,” I nod. Adrian purrs happily as they wrap their arms around me and hold me close to their carapace. I speak up. “Am surprised you no hate holding me.”
“Why would I hate holding you, friend Grace, question?” Adrian inquires. "I no hate at all!"
“Am loud leaky gross thing," I remind.
“It’s not gross for me,” Adrian reassures. “All those noises means you are alive! So, they’re not gross noises. They are good, good, good noises! Make me happy to hear!”
"You are a freak, Adrian," Rocky says to them. Adrian smacks Rocky upside the carapace.
"Is that any way to talk to your mate, question?!" Adrian chortles.
"You love it," Rocky counters. If Adrian had eyes, they would be rolling them. I laugh loudly at their antics, and I find myself more comfortable and safe in Adrian’s arms than before. I look over to Rocky and smile.
“Adrian is awesome.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Rocky agrees. “Am lucky, lucky, lucky, to have Adrian as mate.”
Adrian trills softly, their song gentle and yet so full of love I can feel it in my bones.
“I am so glad you are here, Rocky,” Adrian says.
“Not as glad as I,” Rocky returns as we enter the debrief room.
“Has the awkward situation been resolved, question?” Mufasa asks as soon as Rocky closes the room door.
“Awkward situation has been resolved, statement,” Rocky answers. “We can continue.”
“Grace now share markings with rest of us, question?” Thomas asks. Rocky looks to me.
“Just my arms,” I say. “I’m not comfortable with showing any more skin than that.”
“Understand,” Rocky bobs his carapace. He turns back to the group. “Grace comfortable with showing only arms.”
“Why only arms, question?” Gooey asks.
“Is culture thing. Humans are very soft and squishy, and use clothing to protect their vulnerable parts and regulate temperature. Not wearing any clothing is considered very taboo for them.”
“Oh. Understand,” Gooey chirps.
“Is Grace offended we are not wearing clothing, question?” Sky worries.
“I’m not offended,” I reassure.
“Grace not offended,” Rocky translates. The other Eridians seem to slacken in relief.
“Good, good, good,” Thomas sighs. “Would’ve been a very awkward situation if Grace was offended. I no own clothes.”
“Really? Not even a celebration outfit, question?” Sky inquires curiously.
“I keep forgetting to get one,” Thomas replies. “And there hasn’t been much to celebrate. Well, until now! We not die, statement! Erid saved!”
Thomas and Gooey move forward and hover in front of me, both interested in seeing my arms up close. Thomas is practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of being so close to an alien, while Gooey, as I can tell from their body language, is apprehensive and a bit cautious about it.
“Hello,” I say to them.
“Grace says hello,” Rocky translates for Gooey and Thomas.
“Hello, hello, hello, Grace!” Thomas sings, doing jazz hands. “I am 🎶! It is honour to officially greet with you!”
I categorise their name in Eridian as "Thomas" in my head.
“The feeling is mutual,” I smile politely.
“Grace echoes your sentiments,” Rocky tells Thomas. Thomas squeals in excitement.
“Hello, Grace,” Gooey says, clicking their dominant claws together. “I am called 🎶.”
I categorise their name in Eridian as "Gooey" in my head.
“Nice to meet you, Gooey,” I nod. Rocky is about to translate, but pauses and turns their attention to me.
“Are you actually serious?”
“What?” I frown.
“That’s the word you choose for an English translation of their name?”
“Wha- hey, they called me goopey! I thought Gooey was fitting for them!” I huff, crossing my arms. If Rocky had eyes, he would be rolling them.
“You petty pebble,” Rocky clicks.
“What is happening, question? What is English translation for my name, question?!” Gooey asks.
“Oooh, I didn’t think this through,” I realise.
I didn’t think about what I would say when they asked what their name means in my language! Fudge! This is gonna be really awkward.
I put my face in my hands and groan.
“When you called Grace goopey, Grace named you the equivalent of goopey in their language,” Rocky explains carefully.
“Excuse me?!” Gooey rears back in surprise. “Grace named me Goopey?!”
Behind Gooey, I hear a smattering of laughter coming from Sky, Garret, and Thomas, who quickly stifle their laughter when Mufasa clicks in disapproval.
“An equivalent of it, yes,” Rocky rumbles. “He’s not trying to be offensive, I swear on behalf of him. Grace is just being Grace.”
Gooey is silent for a while as they process this before their limbs slacken in what I’m guessing is resignation.
“I suppose I brought this upon myself,” Gooey huffs. “Making a judgmental comment about Grace as soon as they enter the room was not kind of me. I apologise. I accept this name you have given me.”
“Oh,” I blink in surprise. I hadn’t been expecting an apology. “It’s fine, really. I understand. I’m probably a sound for sore hearing or some Eridian equivalent of that phrase.”
“You are forgiven,” Rocky tells Gooey.
“That’s not what I said,” I frown.
“I’m not translating your babble,” Rocky waves me off. I shrug. Fair enough.
“Thank, thank, thank,” Gooey hums.
“What English translation is my name, question?!” Thomas asks excitedly.
“Thomas,” I say.
“Grace give you a human name. Has no meaning beyond a name,” Rocky informs.
“Amaze, amaze, amaze! I get human name! I feel special!” Thomas cheers. Gooey moves a little closer.
“Can hear Grace arms up close now, question?”
“Yes,” I nod, holding my arms out. Gooey hesitantly takes my arms in their grasp and quickly let go, making a strange noise as they do.
“Can hear Grace body much clearer when touch! Is a lot. Wasn’t prepared,” Gooey explains. “Apology.”
“No worries,” I give them a thumbs down.
“What gesture mean, question?” Gooey inquiries.
“Is human equivalent of this,” Rocky answers, doing jazz hands. Gooey perks up and mimics my thumbs down with their dominant hand.
“Like gesture,” Gooey hums. “Simple and efficient. Will use often.”
They reach back out and hold my arms in their claws, this time not allowing themselves to be put off by my bodily noises. I admire their perseverance when it’s clear they’re not super comfortable listening to me.
Their hand traces over my marks, but gives the mating mark a wide berth out of respect before their claws settle on some chitinous crystallisation on my upper arm.
“Yes, this is very interesting,” Gooey finally says. They let go of my arms and float back to their designated spot in the room before speaking out to the group. “The marks are proportional to Grace’s body, but they are still clearly the same markings as Rocky’s, including crystalted growths.”
As soon as Gooey is clear, Thomas moves forward and takes my arms in their claws to inspect them closer. They let out trills and chirps of excitement.
“And you say some box did this to you, question?” Margarie asks.
“That’s not all it did,” Rocky responds. “Grace and I discovered many, many more symptoms we are certain the box caused.”
“Do tell,” Garret encourages. “I’m guessing one of them was allowing you to survive in Grace’s natural oxygen atmosphere, question?”
“You would be correct,” Rocky bobs his carapace. “The same applies for Grace, except it allowed Grace to survive and thrive in our ammonia-rich, superheated atmosphere.”
“So, whatever this box is, it not only changed you externally, but internally as well, question?!” Thomas asks with growing disbelief, gently letting go of my arms. “How is that even possible?!”
Rocky turns his attention to Thomas with an equivalent of pure exasperation and irritation. Thomas cringes.
“Right. You do not know.”
“No. We do not know,” Rocky chitters. “In all manner of speaking, what the box did to Grace and me should not be possible.”
“What other changes did you experience, question?” Mufasa prompts.
“Yes, please list them in all great detail!” Thomas chirps. “Want to know everything.”
“Hmmm,” Rocky draws out. I feel his apprehension.
“What’s going on, Rock?” I ask.
“We need to tell them all the symptoms,” Rocky tells me.
“Yeah?” I raise my eyebrow.
“All the symptoms, Grace,” Rocky repeats, waiting for me to understand what he’s implying. I don’t.
“I think Rocky is speaking of your... ability to speak Eridian,” Adrian says so quietly that I struggle to hear them despite being literally pressed against them.
“Oh,” I realise. “That.”
“How do we proceed?” Rocky questions.
“I mean,” I start, running a hand through my hair. “We gotta tell them, right? What other option do we have?”
“Avoiding the topic, statement,” Rocky offers. I level Rocky with a look that he immediately folds under.
“Look, I don’t like it either, but like, this is the debrief to end all debriefs,” I say. “We need to include everything we know about what happened to us.”
“You do realise that the others will be... alarmed about how you sound, Grace,” Rocky reminds. I get flashbacks of Adrian an hour ago launching themselves at my face, and I shiver.
“Adrian can protect me, right?” I ask, half joking.
"Adrian," Rocky calls out quietly. "Will you protect Grace from any Eridian who gets cuteness agression, question?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Adrian chirps. "I will protect."
"Thank, thank, thank," Rocky sighs. "You are best."
"Is everything alright, question?" Mufasa calls out.
"Yes. Everything fine," Rocky answers. "Just trying to figure out how to navigate conversation."
"Is this another awkward symptom, quesiton?" Sky inquires.
"You could say that," Rocky confirms. "So, I, uh, we soon learned that Grace had developed a singular air bladder that he could use to speak our language."
“What?!” Thomas jumps. “Human Grace can speak Eridian, question?”
“Yes,” Rocky clicks. The other Eridians shift in surprise and anticipation.
“If the alien can speak Eridian, why haven’t they spoken Eridian yet, question?” Margarie huffs. Rocky’s arm twitches. "Is much rude that they have not spoken to us directly if they can communicate!"
“He has one air bladder!” Rocky exclaims, waving his arms about. “What do you want Grace to say with one air bladdar, question?! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?”
“...What does that mean, question?”
“Is human word!” Rocky groans.
“One air bladder...” Sky says slowly. “Grace can only speak Pebble Talk, question?”
“Yes. That is exactly the issue,” Rocky confirms. The other Eridians make various noises of surprise and realisation. “We did not want to bring up the Pebble Talk right out of the gate–”
“What?” Gooey interrupts.
“Human phrase!” Rocky exclaims tiredly. “I mean to say that the Pebble Talk was not something we wanted to talk about first, since it would be a distraction to the debrief of the mission.”
“Why would it be a distraction, question? They can't sound that much like a pebble, can they, question?”
“I have heard Grace speak Eridian before,” Garret speaks up. “It is quite alarming to hear at first. They sound almost exactly like an Eridian pebble.”
“Really?” Sky chirps in surprise. “Can we hear, question?”
Rocky looks over at me, and I give a single awkward nod. Rocky turns back to the group.
“As long as you don’t freak out. Yes, Grace sounds like a pebble, but you must remember that Grace is fully mature for his species and more intelligent than most. Understand, question?”
“Understood,” came from the other Eridians.
“Okay, well,” I speak up. “I wouldn’t say more intelligent than most, but–”
“Not the time for your dumbness, Grace,” Rocky chuffs, waving me off. “Say something to the other Eridians.”
“Fine. Hello,” I chirp. Just as suspected, the group of Eridians all startle, even Mufasa, whose reactions had been relatively contained, jerked in surprise at the sound of my voice.
“They truly do sound like a pebble!” Gooey gasps.
“Grace sounds like my grandpebble,” Margarie croons. “That is very concerning!”
“Is adorable!” Sky exclaims.
"So, so, so adorable!" Thomas tacks on.
“Am full grow,” I remind, crossing my arms.
“You are not helping your case, Grace,” Rocky inserts, causing me to roll my eyes. “I am going to continue with story time now. The next symptom we discovered was that I had gained the ability to visualise things I had never seen before.”
“Truly? Only 1 in 10,000 Eridians have that ability,” Gooey whistles. “To just suddenly gain that ability you were not hatched with...”
“Oh, it gets better,” Rocky says sarcastically. “We started to put together that Grace and I were getting traits from each other, and because of that, my attention deficit disorder got worse, as well as the way I process the world around me. I also got obsessive-compulsive disorder from Grace.”
“That’s not better!” Garret exclaims. “How is that better, question?!”
“Oh. I did not mean it as those things were better. I say better and mean the opposite. Is called sarcasm,” Rocky explains awkwardly. “Is human thing.”
“Your speech has taken on a lot of human qualities,” Margarie comments. "Is peculiar."
“Human language is far more complex than ours. I like it,” Rocky answers, shrinking in on himself self-consciously.
“Is hard to understand you,” Margarie continues. “You should work to fix that. You sound nothing like an Eridian.”
“That sounds like a you problem,” Adrian speaks up. I think my jaw audibly drops. Margarie rears back.
“Excuse me?!”
“Rocky spent 216 years in Tau Ceti doing everything in their power to save our planet, and they have come back with a solution. So what if the way they speak is different?” Adrian rants, shaking a fist at Margarie. “If you do not understand something they say, then ask for clarification! You are certainly in no place to criticise my mate over the way they talk!”
Before Margarie can reply, Mufasa speaks.
“Adrian is in the right here, 🎶,” Mufasa calls out. I’m assuming ‘🎶’ is Margaire’s Eridian name. “Please refrain from making such distasteful comments moving forward, Margarie.”
“I– yes,” Margarie lowers their carapace. “I apologise, Rocky. That was wrong of me to say.”
“Yes,” Rocky chirps, holding his carapace up high. “It was.”
“Apology for interruption. Will you continue, Rocky, question?” Mufasa requests.
“Affirmitve. So, Grace and I discover that I can visualise things I had never seen- I mean heard before, and then we realise Grace has gotten Eridian’s eidetic memory. Eidetic memory is something some humans have on Earth, but Grace didn’t have it. Now he does.”
“Interesting. Changes the box made to you are internal, external, and mental,” Thomas lists out. “As a scientist, I hate, hate, hate, to say this, but this is seeming more and more like magic.”
I chitter at the word, and Rocky chortles at me.
“Yes, you are not alone in that thought,” Rocky bobs his carapace. “However, when I proposed this idea of magic to Grace on the ship, he was unhappy with the idea and hit the wall of the Mary and dented it in frustration.”
"Grace sounds like a true scientist," Garret comments.
“Grace hit wall with fleshy hand?” Adrian repeats. “Was Grace okay, question?”
“Physically completely fine,” Rocky reassures. “Which was certainly unusual considering how breakable Grace is.”
“Another symptom, then,” Gooey puts together.
“Yep. Not long after, I had Grace go sleep since he hadn’t slept in a while, but as soon as he fell asleep, so did I,” Rocky tells everyone.
“What?! Involuntary rest cycle, question?!”
“No. Not really? Is hard to explain. It seems that whenever Grace sleeps, I sleep the same time as he does and vice versa. However, because Grace’s biology means he can wake up whenever there is danger. I can now do that too. So, we sleep at the same time now.”
“And there is no way to stop this from happening, question?” Garret inquires.
“Well, we can fight to stay awake if the other is asleep, but it is far from efficient. We can barely function if the other is asleep. So we just sleep at the same time and can wake up if there is danger.”
“Amaze. What an insane change. Are your rest cycles still restful, question?”
"Very much so. I have had no troubles with sleep linked to Grace," Rocky hums.
“Oh. Additionally, when we sleep, we can sometimes share memories with one another,” Rocky says. “We’re unable to choose which memories of our lives the other sees, but it certainly has been an interesting experience.”
“Whoa. So you have seen Earth through Grace’s memories, question?!” Adrian asks, in awe.
“Yes,” Rocky confirms.
“What does it sound like, question? What are the biomes like? The temperatures?! What about the wildlife?” Adrian rapid fires.
“Earth is beautiful,” Rocky answers, calming his mate. “Is amaze, amaze, amaze. I wish you could see the world as Grace sees it. Because of whatever the box did to Grace and me, I have gotten the ability to perceive light as Grace can, and... and everything is so beautiful.”
“You can perceive light, question?!” Gooey repeats. “How is that even possible?! You do not have the round spheres in your head to perceive light like the human can!”
“I have no clue,” Rocky shrugs. “But I’m not going to look a gift horse– you know what, forget I said that. I will rephrase. I was not going to complain about the ability.”
“What of Grace, question? If you got the ability to perceive light, does that mean Grace got the ability to use sonar to hear the world around us as we do, question?” Thomas inquires.
“He did! You learn quick, Thomas,” Rocky praises, sounding pleased there was someone who could keep up with him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Thomas preens gleefully. “What are other changes you experienced, question?”
“We learned Grace was far more durable than he used to be, and from that, we learned he is much, much stronger than before. Grace can also eat Eridian food and not die. A lot of metals that we eat are extremely deadly to humans but no longer to Grace.”
“... How did you discover Grace was able to consume Eridian food if you know Eridian food is poisonous for human biology, question?” Garret questions slowly. Rocky and I go very still. Garret sighs. “Please, please, please, do not tell me you just had Grace eat Eridian food without any tests.”
“... I will stay silent, then,” Rocky answers.
“Rocky! That is incredibly dumb!” Gooey exclaims.
“Is not dumb!” Rocky screeches in offence. “Grace and I could already survive each other’s atmosphere; it wasn’t a dumb assumption to make that Grace would be able to ingest Eridian food.”
“But if you were wrong–!”
“Wasn’t wrong!” Rocky argues. “I was right! I was right, right, right!”
“Rock, take a breath,” I instruct. Rocky puffs at me.
“I was right, though,” Rocky chitters. I roll my eyes.
“And you can revel in your victory later,” I say. “Continue story time. We’re so close to being done.”
“Fine. Yes, yes. So Grace can eat Eridian food without dying. So we had me try human food, and I did not die, but it was very, very boring. Human food boring.”
“You got Rocky to try a new food, question?” Adrian inquires, tapping my arm to show they were talking to me.
“Uh... yes?” I reply, looking up at Adrian.
“Amaze! Trying to get Rocky to try new foods is almost impossible!” Adrian exclaims.
“Adriaaaaan,” Rocky draws out. “Is not impossible.”
“Yes. It is almost impossible,” Adrian restates, amusement laced in their tone. “The last time I got you to try something new, you regurg–”
“We’re getting off track!” Rocky interrupts. “There are a few more symptoms to go over!”
“What are those, question?” Margarie asks.
“Well,” Rocky trails off, tapping his fingers together bashfully. “I may or may not have given Grace my tic disorder. Oops.”
“Of course you did,” Garret huffs fondly. “This is all very interesting. This strange phenomenon seems to have given you both the good and the bad of one another.”
“We can sense how one another feels as well,” Rocky says.
“Like a soul bond from the stories,” Adrian hums.
Soul bond?
Could that be what this is?
“What about lifespan, question?” Gooey brings up. “If you two are meeting in the middle with traits of one another... then... lifespans?”
Rocky and I both freeze.
“We... we do not know,” Rocky answers truthfully, fiddling with the mating stone on his arm. “It is something we have considered, yes. But we did not want to entertain the idea until we knew for sure, and we had no way to really test on The Hail Mary. Don’t want to get hopes up.”
“My medical team and I can help you test for this,” Gooey offers.
“That would be deeply appreciated,” Rocky returns gratefully. “Grace and I can also supply you with all the Earth's knowledge of the human body and its functions.”
“Oooh!” Thomas squeals. “Can I partake in this learning, question?! I’d love to know more about Earth, statement!”
“I’m sure Grace would be happy to teach you about Earth,” Rocky hums as I nod vigorously. “Before Grace was in space, Grace’s job was to teach human pebbles about science.”
“Amaze, amaze, amaze!” Thomas sings. “Much thanks, Saviour Grace!”
I freeze and choke on my own spit.
Excuse me?
“What did they just call me?” I ask slowly. “I think my ears are broken.”
“I think Thomas just called you Saviour Grace,” Rocky laughs.
“You are right, Saviour Rocky!” Thomas answers.
“What?!” Rocky barks, arms flailing at the title. “You call me saviour, question?! Am not saviour! That is dumb name!”
“Hmmm,” Mufasa contemplates. “Saviour Grace and Saviour Rocky.”
“Oh no,” Rocky starts. “No, no, no, no, no, no.”
“What’s happening?!” I ask, picking up on Rocky’s dread.
“I know that tone,” Rocky chitters to me. “That is the title tone.”
“The what now?”
“Is there anything more to discuss, question?” Mufasa inquires.
“No, I believe that is all,” Rocky answers nervously.
“Amaze. We shall conclude the debrief then. We would like to extend our deepest and most eternal gratitude to the saviours of our planet. From this point forward, Erid shall know your names, Saviour Rocky and Saviour Grace,” Mufasa speaks.
Oh.
Oh, God, no.
This isn’t happening.
“Saviour?!” I repeat. “Did they just title me Saviour Grace?!”
“They did,” Rocky nods. “And I am now Saviour Rocky. For fucks sake. All of Erid will forever be calling us this.”
“What?! No! Absolutely not! This is bananas!” I exclaim. “I refuse the title!”
“Yes. Yes, good idea, Grace! We refuse the titles!” Rocky calls out to Mufasa. “Titles are not necessary!”
“I assure you, they most certainly are, Saviour Rocky,” Mufasa returns in a no-nonsense voice. “You and Saviour Grace have well and truly earned them, and all of Erid must know what you have done for us. This is non-negotiable.”
“Fantastic,” Rocky chuffs. "Love that."
“Was that sarcasm, dear, question?” Adrian inquires fondly.
“Yes,” Rocky answers. “It was all the sarcasm.”
“Wait. Before we officially conclude the debrief,” Margarie calls out to us. “I have a question.”
“What is question, question?” Rocky asks.
“Why Grace have four names?”
“Huh?” I blink.
“What?” Rocky stops. “What mean Grace have four names? Grace does not have four names.”
“You called Grace, Grace. But you also called Grace He, His, Him. These other names, question?”
My face pales.
Oh.
Oh, God, no.
This isn’t happening.
“No. Not names. They are called pronouns,” Rocky shakes his carapace. Margarie is quiet for a moment.
“What are pronouns, question?”
The debrief goes on for another half hour.