Chapter Text
Grace, wake up. Rocky have job.
Grace cracked open an eye and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of a tanned human arm laying on the xenonite above his face. “Cheese and crackers, what the--” he yelped, fully awake immediately. “Rocky, what IS that?”
Is arm. Maybe Grace sleep more, still stupid.
“I know that,” he replied, irritated, “but why is it shaped like mine? Shouldn’t you be making your own?”
Though, now that he looked at it, it looked like an odd hybrid of both of them. The hand had only three fingers, though there appeared to be space for two more, and the articulation of it was a little odd. It was also noticeably bare of any of Rocky’s markings.
Rocky need better **** for work on Mary and pleasure for Grace.
Grace sat straight up and nearly gave himself a concussion on the panel the arm was laying on. “I’m sorry, what was that last part??”
Rocky chirped with laughter and finally came into view carrying another arm, this one with the full five fingers attached to its hand. He picked them both up and slung them into a strap that looked like it was made of a xenonite cloth—however the heck that would work.
Rocky make sure Grace feel good. Have been doing much research on thinking machine while Grace asleep. Learned much about human social behaviors and human pleasure.
Maybe he could ask Rocky to install lasers for the sole purpose of vaporizing him where he sat, like he had previously imagined. This thought was taking place rather unglamorously, mind you—he realized he was having this conversation in boxer shorts and a Cats t-shirt at least a size too small around the same time Rocky punted one of the arms through the mesh partition. “Wait, hold up. What do you mean by pleasure?”
Rocky gave a multi-tonal huff of irritation and pushed the other arm through as well. The soft thud was mildly jarring for something made of stone.
Rocky want to touch and please mate. Rocky does not feel human senses, but can approximate with good science. Grace should come see progress.
The ship could have exploded right then and there and Grace would have had no idea. The word ‘mate’ spun around his head like a cartoonish set of cuckoo birds and he was pretty sure his jaw was hanging open.
“But what about Adrian??” he finally mustered, and could have kicked himself for it. Of course he wouldn’t have a protest for ‘mate’ (ignoring the sheer giddiness that he was repressing out of a desire for normalcy and a creeping suspicion that he was way weirder than he thought), he would rather focus on the homewrecking aspect.
It was Rocky’s turn to be confused, tilting his carapace towards his human (yeah, yeah, we know) and just... well, not staring at him, but close enough.
What about, question?
“I... uh. You have a mate back home, right? I don’t want to, you know...”
The pair stared at each other in a way vaguely reminiscent of their first meeting, completely unsure of where the other stood or what was going on. At least, Grace assumed he was being stared at. What with Rocky being omni-directional and all that.
Grace worried what Adrian might think, question? Grace already say Grace Rocky two half of one.
He nodded and eased himself off the bed, trying and failing to locate the pants he had tossed on the ground a few hours earlier. Armando must have grabbed them in his sleep. “I mean, yeah. I don’t want to mess anything up. I don’t know anything about mate culture on Erid, but on Earth, we only have one mate at a time. Usually. Some people have more but they’re not legally recognized in most places and when they are there’s a whole bunch of other issues, but the point is that I don’t want to ruin your marriage.”
He was rambling again. Rocky was tapping his claws.
Earth very weird. Erid not so strict. Mating is like... hmm. String. At Grace’s obvious confusion, he elaborated. Rocky have two halves to be whole. One half, belong with Adrian. One half Adrian belong to Rocky. Rocky still have one half left, yes? One half for Grace. Adrian also maybe have one half left, had not found string-mate when Rocky left.
Grace sat cross-legged on the floor next to the odd disembodied arms, trying to comprehend what he was being told. A string-like mating culture, where each Eridian was split in two. Rocky could have both himself and Adrian, and Adrian could have another mate, and so could Grace. Hm.
“What would happen if Adrian and I became mates?” he asked curiously. “Wouldn’t the string be a circle?”
The second half of his question was lost with the boiling-kettle sound emitting from Rocky’s vents. Rather than sounding angry, he seemed to be... excited?
Yes yes yes, Grace Adrian meet and become mates! Circle is normal, happens often. Sometimes with two, sometimes with many. Adrian will love love love Grace, Adrian likes soft and wet.
Maybe it was the combination of confusion and shock at being told that Rocky’s mate, who Grace had not met, would love to get their claws on his squishiness, but he found himself holding one of the arms in his lap and doing everything in his power not to think about what having two Eridian mates might mean. Hell, having ONE mate was already pushing it—he wasn’t sure if he was ready to unpack how much he loved the word in relation to himself, or wonder exactly how that might work.
The ‘skin’ of the prototype was very soft. It felt real and warm and jarringly like his own. The elbows bent and the fingers articulated exactly the same way his did, only a little bigger. Rocky’s excitement died down and he began tapping the floor of his enclosure, wanting to see exactly how Grace liked them.
They were, truly, a marvel. The fingertips even had faint prints in the material. “They’re beautiful, Rocky,” he said honestly, and was rewarded with gleeful song. “What are these for?”
He was pointing at the end of the arm, where dozens of tiny tubes could be seen throughout the material. Rocky straightened up with pride.
Rocky curious what Grace touch feels like, but Eridians do not have sensors. Tubes are for Rocky blood. Will be able to hear Grace-touch very well, very intimate. Closest Rocky can come without Eridian scientist help.
It would not be in the effort of scientific accuracy to say that the idea didn’t immediately throw Grace’s brain straight into the gutter. Rocky would be able to come into his atmosphere and touch him. He would be able to hold his best friend, his maybe-mate(?), and feel real contact that wouldn’t sear off his nerve endings. Not only that, but Rocky would be able to hear him properly for the first time, and feel him. Feel his softness.
“You...” The words caught in his throat and he cleared it awkwardly, resting his fingers in the palm of Rocky’s new hand. “You realize you’re giving up everything, right? You won’t look like an Eridian anymore. What will your people say?”
Rocky waved a claw dismissively. Rocky ***** and ***** by Eridian standards. Will think it was inevitable.
“New words?”
Crazy for mating reasons. Like being crazy for mating reasons.
This was said so flippantly that Grace could have laughed if there wasn’t heat pooling in his gut. “Right. On Earth we would say you’re perverted. And I think I’d have to agree.”
Soft chiding noises came in response, but quieted as he held up the shell and pressed a kiss to the back of the hand. “But, they’d probably think I’m a freak too. Normal humans don’t think about what they want to do once their--” Maybe he should cool it. “Mate. Once he’s hurried up and built himself a new skin.”
Rocky squeaked. Grace grinned, ignoring his own blush and the distinct lack of blood in his brain. “What was that job you had for me, by the way?”