Archive of Our Own

A few months back, Grace didn't think he would have been able to imagine a life that was so much more, well, normal.

Especially in the face of all the problems he'd been dealing with during his and Rocky's trip to Erid.

Then the stint of time in Erid's own orbit within the Hail Mary itself. Remaining stand-by at the peak of the planet's inter-space elevator, all whilst Rocky returned home to facilitate the construction of whatever idea that rock had come up with to give him a home. The dome, they'd spoken about it a lot during their travels. What Grace would like from it, what to avoid. It had all come together in idea, but construction was a whole extra aspect, and now all the thoughts could be brought into reality.

Whilst Grace continued to float in a haze of nausea that hadn't properly shifted since all solid food had ran out, along with being so close and yet so far to some form of new safety, Grace wasn't even sure how he'd managed to last long enough.

Sustaining himself and continuing his own suffering through the throes of malnutrition, boardering on near starvation just to continue; coma slurry and Taomoeba making up the brunt of his diet since any food not stored for Eridian Scientists' to emulate had finally ran out around three, maybe four months back. Staring at that burrito in Mary's storage had been horrible until Rocky had moved it to somewhere unknown, somewhere that wouldn't be eaten in the depths of his throes into depressive self-destructive behaviour where his stomach screamed at him and sometimes, Grace just had to scream as loud back into the void.

Specificity had ceased to be Grace's strong point the moment he realised he was sure he had been feeling his brain begin to shrivel up with lack of proper nutrition.

Scurvey, beriberi, and severe and unmedicated anxiety and depression resulting from a nine-month suicide mission turning into a near five year interstellar trip to an unknown future and definitly not enough meds to last that time had it's detriments. Even with a three-person stock and Armando being the best pharmacist in the entire world…

Space, galaxy, wherever-

Rocky had been by his side through it all, nursing him at his worst, making him laugh at his best. Going into the trip, Grace was more than sure that Rocky hadn't fully grasped the dangers of what could happen to the human body with the stress of impending starvation, possible death anyway, and every single other unknown that had plagued his mind-

Sometimes Grace found he understood the need for Stratt to have put them all into a coma. He didn't like it, the idea that he would be asleep for years on end, but he understood it's importance. He saw it's importance.

Hindsight was twenty-twenty. Plus, he'd had other things to worry about in the few days leading up to the Hail Mary launch.

Grace was just happy enough to have gotten Rocky home and back to his people, back to his mate.

And now he had his dome. His habitat, as much as Rocky admonished him calling his home that.

Adrian found it funny, at least. They appreciated his humour.

Sol was officially recovering.

Things were all looking up. Finally.

Grace glances down at where Rocky had situated himself, balled up on the wooden floor of what was now Grace's home. Legs crooked and loafed beneath himself, much in the same was the resident human had made himself comfy on a large love-seat built by some amazing engineers. Grace had his own legs sandwiched beneath himself.

Pins and needles buzzing over his left foot. He didn't want to move.

So Grace would ignore it. Easily. He stared at the angular cream structure of his homes walls. The lull of the domes fading light of his artificial day carving lines through the shadows of the different rooms that had been built for him; encompassing the best aspects of Earthen structures that Rocky had informed the development team, along with the best Eridian engineering marvels of comfy living. Grace had added in what he could, his vastly increased proficiency in Eridian suddenly so limited when faced with speakers who had no reason to slow down for him, Rocky had made it all at least easier to wrap his head around afterwards.

God, it was like listening to Stratt and Yao switch languages mid conversation. His head hurt.

Rocky really was a saviour.

Texture monitor in hand pointed down at a stack of notes, trilling quietly to himself as the murcury and crystal for a brain took in written English like it was nothing.

Insane.

Grace's forcefully moves his attention away from staring at his friend. To a wall, somewhere he wasn't staring too hard. Explaining the human sensation of being watched wasn't on the cards for today. They actually had some work to do.

I should paint that. Grace's brows furrowed at a small chip over the living room wall. Probably where he'd tripped into it. Something.

Or wipe down the windows. They were a little smeared. Or straighten out the display modules repurposed from the don't-go-crazy room.

TVs technically. He had access to all of the Earth's media, so YouTube was a must.

All things he could do after all the other things he needed to do.

The Hail Mary missing a few high-def 4K screens and a couple beds from the med-bay meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

He needed to focus. That's what he needed to do.

Focus, Ryland. Don't distract yourself, you do that enough- oh, pens-

Grace pulled himself up from his slouch in the chair, the shift after so long of sitting down looking at his own scrawled notes and having them staring back, anything would be a good break.

Eridian written language next to his English, scrawled in his students improving chicken-scratch of kids holding a proverbial pencil wrong, Grace had no idea if his Eridian was actually getting better or if he truly had been overestimating his own skills.

He was probably improving. Thanks to Rocky and the loud Eridian kids that had become his class.

His foot flared with pins staticking up his thigh. Grace bit back a curse.

"Where Grace going? Question." said alien thumped one leg loosely against the floor from where it was laid beneath himself. More of a scratching tap than anything.

Grace wasn't going anywhere immediatly, not with hopping around on one foot and tentatively putting his needley limb onto the ground and hoping for the quiet torture to end. Rocky just watched, drifted into silence until Grace finally massaged the ache out of his poor heel enough to reply.

"I need a pen. Can't write notes without a pen." He gestures somewhere towards where the kitchen was situated, though Armando despensed burritos were still his favour form of meal. He knew he had a pot of pens in there too. Somewhere near the draw of miscilanious things.

Rocky made a mmhm noise of understanding. Eridians were more inclined to scratch markings into solid surfaces. Craft their notes from xenon like Rocky himself had built spaceships and tiny little xeno-people in no time at all.

"Grace staring? Question." Said alien thumped one leg sharply against the floor to enuncuate, even though Grace could pick up on the tone easily enough.

He realised he was actually just staring down at his friend. Grace made his way into the kitchen for a few seconds to actually retrieve a pen before he completely forgot what he was doing, because if he answered Rocky in any form, his train of thought would easily slip away.

Only God knew the amount of times he'd have to ask Rocky to go back through the previous five minutes of conversation to jog his memory. He wished he had the memory of an Eridian. Or, not exactly. Maybe the cool setup of their social structure? Cool tactile markings of life?

Maybe the vocal range? As physically unable as he was to make any sounds needed to properly speak Eridian, it wasn't for want of trying during their years voyage with the best roomate ever.

Hanging out together, in the same rooms all the time. Talking about their homes, sharing tales of their own lives. Explaining discoveries when their perosnal science knowledge didn't align, watching each other sleep, keeping the Taomoeba alive, proverbially breathing down each others necks.

Strangling Rocky definitley hadn't crossed his mind at all.

The trip back hadn't been smooth sailing, but Grace wouldn't have had it any other way. He was alive.

He literally had a home.

He has pages and pages of notes from his classes that he needs to look over. Lesson plans he needs to figure out.

Work to grade.

Wow. Even lightyears away from Earth, his kids could never escape the red pen.

"Staring still. Grace dumb. Forget to think?" Rocky says, a trill and a rock of his carapice had Grace blinking back to reality. There's a lilt at the end of the sentence. A question. Rocky wasn't partial to dumbing down his words now if he didn't need to. He sometimes did, but Grace was learning.

Grace blinked the confusion from his eyes, "Huh, what were you saying?"

Rocky sat back on his hind legs. Stared up with no face. An eye roll.

Grace held back the need to reach out and knock Rocky's xenonite glass suit to one side to put him off balance. It was never going to work.

Grace prioritises making sure he didn't spill any coffee instead when he retrieves his cup from a small table. He's a nice guy. Rocky doesn't even know how nice he is.

He sips from his mug. Taps his new pen against his leg. Twirls it between his fingers. Maybe chews on the end briefy.

Rocky stands with a stretch, shaking his body out before he walks over to where the front door is, "Grace tired today, have to use cane. When was last time you slept?". He'd left his cane propped up beside his outdoor shoes.

Technically everything was indoors in a dome, but outdoors, and then indoors in his house. That didn't change the fact that Eridian gravity was a good point higher than the Earth's had been, one normal that was now unchangable. Grace was back to fighting fit, eating three-square meals a day, and experiencing joint stress and possibly budding arthiritis. His body would likely get used to it in time.

For now, the cane was there when needed. Like for when he had class tomorrow. The last thing he wants to be doing is waking up with minutes to spare and having to search for the very thing that helps him walk.

Grace gave a hum of confirmation as Rocky pokes at it as if he wasn't the one who made it, "Woke up with bad knees."

Rocky chirped with an understanding hum, "Understand. Human detatched knee joint is weird. Should get better body."

A scoff works its way free from his throat, he sinks himself down into his chair and bundled his legs back into a comfortable contortion supported by a couple pillows, hes ready to grade, not be insulted, "Oh, wow. I invite you into my home-"

"Ours."

Grace rolled his eyes now, "Only when you're here to annoy me." He watched as his friend poked his cane a little too hard, and squinted as he saw it toppling to the floor with what would be an eventual-

CLANG-

Nothing worse than a falling object no one could stop. Only prepare for. It shook his teeth slightly, his eyes ended up squinted shut until the noise passed.

Rocky at least seemed sheepish as he righted the fall, then came back over to inevitably annoy Grace as if he wasn't priming himself to make fun of his apparently infallible alien friend. There was noises, mumbling more like, as eventually the cane remained in place propped back in a corner again.

Normally Grace was the one who tripped over things.

"Rocky have bedroom here." The alien said in lieu of acknowledging anything else that had happened. So that's what they were going to do then.

"I let you look at my class notes-" Grace waves his hand, the cup of coffee in it sloshes slightly.

Rocky eventually settles against the floor just beside Grace's chair, leaving the notes alone on the floor in favour of just sitting close. Time in space and not much to do but maintenance and talk really broke down the walls on social etiquette and discomfort, "Grace is whining. Statement."

"Destroying my home," Grace taps his pen against his notebook, stares at his own scribbles on the page. He's not even looking at the words, more squiggling out a rough and not impressive shape with five legs.

"Sarcasm. Ha ha. Very funny." There's a lilting chirp of a laugh.

"You're meant to be helping me." Grace is whining, apparently.

Rocky gave an affirmative tone, tilting his body up and down in a sort of nod, "Yes, yes. Meant to be teaching Eridian so teacher-Grace can understand students better."

That was the whole point they'd scheduled a hang-out for that day. Armando floats over on its rig, little gripping "hand" pinching at midair as if it was fiddling. Grace lifted the notebook up to his robot had something to hold onto.

Eridian classes was something they tried to do weekly. For Grace's own benefit, and when Rocky realised pretty soon into their space adventure that Grace did not in fact have the photographic memory of an Eridian himself. Grace wanted to learn himself, and he could hear and translate with a quick ease at this point.

But his kids.

They said some things that he had no idea where to start with. No basis for translation, no nothing.

Like his earthen students and their memes. Ryland was tech-savvy enough to be in the know with the newer ones.

He didn't even want to think about the prospect of extraterrestrial meme culture.

The bits of learning and stuff usually went off track in the first few minutes anyway, as much as Grace wanted to learn and Rocky wanted to teach. Rocky came in with a loud and incessant knocking, they sat down on the floor and then procrastinated on the task at hand.

Spending time with each other wasn't few and far between, but the stint of constant personal bubble invasion had grown on him, and Grace hadn't had so much space to himself for so long. The old times would never truly come back. Rocky was busy with different trips and talks and thrums around Erid after coming back a hero, Grace was busy himself with helping Eridian Scientists further their own knowledge and research. He'd had interviews himself, meetings and a flurry of voices calling at him for helping save their star.

So spending quiet time together was important to the both of them. Hence, Rocky's own space. Grace's house but a place for Rocky too, who had quickly decided and built parts of his own space.

Triangle windows on the living room wall leading to the larger structure of xenon glass where Rocky could enter. Shuck the suit, as different as the suit now was. Old habits died hard.

Grace blew out a breath, how would he explain the unexplainable to Rocky, "I can understand the children just fine. Ish. Sometimes they say words I have no idea where to start with. And I ask them to explain and I'm fairly sure they laugh at me."

Rocky's laugh was more than clear in his reaction. So now his friend was laughing at him too. "It is process learning."

"Learning process." Grace says easily, before shifting to look over the front of the seat down at Rocky, "Where did we leave off last time?"

"Noises of the action. Newer generations and language shift."

Ah, yes. The grunts and huffs and approval and denial tones of the highly tonal Eridian language.

Grace sighed heavily, and Rocky shifted with a three digit limb pointing with a trumpeted flow of air coming from his body. "Yes, that exact! We," Rocky let's out the low tone again, legs tilting one side to the other. "Bored. Tired. Annoyed. The," The noise comes a third time, and Grace listens with the back of his mind as the Hail Mary Assistant pings in affirmation of a New Word saved into the back-up log of translations should Grace ever need them.

The tone doesn't come. Rocky notices too, looks up towards the ceiling as much as he can. That's where the speakers were now wired.

"Unusual."

They'd only just started. Maybe he needed his laptop for this, and right after he'd gotten comfy too.

He made a move to get up, looking up a the ceiling himself. Still no chime. Weird. "Mary's probably tired or something."

"Is robot, robots cannot experience tired sensation. Dumb." Rocky moves too, getting to his feet, "Where going?"

Grace ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he forgot to brush it that morning, he snags a tangle or two, "Can you see where my laptop is?"

There's a thump against the flooring, and Rocky stands up and turns in a slow circle to map out the sound waves and the area around him, "Grace portable-earth-thinking-machine is in my room."

He wasn't surprised it had ended up there. Nothing new really.

And two birds with one stone. The control board for most of the important electronics in the house was in there too, maybe they could see if Mary was feeling okay.

He really hoped there was no issue. That's the last thing he wanted.

They make their way through the short hallways and close rooms of the house, and Grace can already see the artificial light of the dome's day cycle coming to a soft orange and pink hue of evening. Man, they'd really used most of the day doing nothing.

He definitely wouldn't complain about that.

Rocky passes between Grace's legs as he steps, nearly taking him out in the process as the Eridian goes to shift around different padding and blankets and a couple mattresses over the floor that made up Rocky and Adrian's nest for when they decided to visit.

Grace found his laptop upside=down under one of the blankets. Thankfully its plugged in; he really didn't have the energy to go searching for a cable, or deal with the few minutes of waiting for the laptop to charge enough for it to actually boot up.

Rocky lets out a noise of frustration when Grace allows gravity to take over and he perches himself on the edge of the blanket pile to set his laptop down. It was a lot more sophisticated than the translator he'd put together on the Mary, that being the microphone and audio screen he'd duct taped to the back was now actually screwed in place. That was about it for changes.

"Interest, interest. What is wrong? Let Rocky see screen." The crystal of the texture monitor appears in his peripheral over his left shoulder, and Grace suppresses a laugh bubbling in his throat. Just like one of his old kids. Always staring over his shoulder, interested in everything and anything at all. It's a shrill, not so much different to a bugging droning whistle.

Now that's something Grace could emulate. Whistling was something he had gotten better at. Though he wouldn't be close to anything Rocky could do with that church organ that was effectively embedded into Eridian biology.

The sort of copy that Grace tries to do whilst typing on his laptop isn't the best. Its a bit too high, a little too breathy. He doesn't have the cyclical Eridian lung capacity to keep the sound going long enough.

Rocky shudders in response to the attempt. "Bad. Tone wrong."

Grace brings up the log of translation commands over the past day or so. The automatic detector had been working earlier, it seemed. He was no programmer, but he knew what ERROR: ACTION FAILED likely meant.

Troubleshooting time.

He smiles at Rocky anyway, leaning over to his screen to see the text closer, "Hey, not my fault my vocal chords don't work that way. And didn't you just tell me last week you were being quieter for basically the entire time we've known each other?"

"Yes, yes. Three days back. Grace hearing lame." Rocky whines. Grace really wished he'd not given Rocky access to that word.

Speaking of access. Grace used the pen he was still carrying at his chest to point over to where there was a panel embedded into the wall. Rocky followed the action, and moved without much prompting. The screen there blinks on, and on the surface nothing is clearly amiss. Maybe the laptop issue caused a temporary error? Wouldn't be the first time?

Rocky hums softly as he presses through a few keys, pulling on a couple xenon strands flowing up beside the screen.

"I have maintenance Eridian look at. Possible simple fix. Now, try again."

Grace looked over at his friend as he made his way back over, slotting himself easily against his crossed legs in a space more than likely ergonomic around Rocky's persistent form.

The weight and warmth of his friend on the other side of the glass, its pretty relaxing. That, and the warm laptop on his lap as he clears the past days queue of waiting, and apparently failed commands.

"Cool, interesting human mouth thing, though overall bad execution. Whistle noise. How whistle without tube, question?" Rocky asks.

Grace smiled, huffing out something closer to a snort than a real laugh, "Pushing air, Rock. You know this."

"Yes, yes. Rocky know." Grace can see the weaseling method of Rocky trying to get Grace to do something. Like a puppet show, but not wanting to ask. Grace leans a little against Rocky's form and waits for his friend to actually use his words.

It takes a second, "Remember celebration trick you show? I know Earth-person memory bad. We were on Mary, remember? Question."

What Rocky's asking is not even Eridian. It was a fragment from a memory Grace barely even realised he'd resurfaced.

Grace's smile turns into a grin. He brings his hand up to his mouth and shoots out a taxi-cab whistle as Rocky watched.

The Eridian shoots up at the noise, legs tapping against the ground and running around the bedroom with all the abadon of a wet cat, eventually skidding to a stop in front of where Grace was still sat, "No! No, wrong noise! Wrong, loud! Grace being mean to Rocky. Statement. Grace teasing. Make fun noise! Fun one!"

Who was meant to be be teaching who noises?

"The fun one?" Grace loved feigning ignorance.

Rocky made a frustrated drone. His legs poked at Grace's chest, pushed on the back of his laptop to close it, weight pressing on his legs lightly only after years of practice and one or two bruised ribs.

"Yes, yes. We were on Mary, day five hundred and forty three. Friend-Grace show Rocky celebration trick."

Party trick.

It's definitely not an Eridian noise, but it's a cool trick. One that set up his human class for a day of whistling in every other teachers lessons in an attempt to get the trick down themselves. Grace smirked at that particular memory. All the complaints in the staff room.

It wasn't even hard, just whistling through his mouth and blowing out a hum through his nose.

It made a tone close to a didgeridoo, though more choppy and echoing. He runs out of breath just as fast.

A very, very simple example of overtone singing, if it could even be called that.

This time, Rocky's reaction is much louder, much sharper than it had been before. A noise of excitement, of joy really at getting exactly what he wanted.

It's clearly happy, shrill even. Not bound by the volume control Grace had only previously complained about, he was now getting the full experience. The full excited Eridian experience of noise.

It shoots through his head, almost floors him in a second if he hadn't already been sat down. A shout of pain manages to escape.

Rocky freezes in less than a second, all noise coming to a sudden and sharp silence.

The noise, as brief and as quick as it had been, strikes Grace like a thunder-clap headache. His hand flies up to his head in a second, cradling his ringing skull as much as he could. His ears felt like they were roaring, like a yawn that was deafening him, lasting bit too long.

There was so much pressure.

His brain is screeching, a thrumming and painful unending pressure behind his eyes, a dull throb moving up over his nose and behind his eye socket. Screwing his eyes shut didn't abate it, gritting his teeth only made the sensation worse.

Damn it- Freaking-, "Holy moly, that-" Grace groans, his knees feel weak. His stomach feels weak.

His head is pulsing-

Armando quickly appears at the doorway of the room at the commotion, hand now absent of a notebook and reaching forwards to try and help steady him even though he's sat down. Even though Rocky is right there in front of him now, leaning close, staring, shifting from foot to foot and not giving him an inch of space and-

"Friend-Grace?" Rocky's tone is quiet, careful this time. So cautiously measured that even the simpleness of Grace's own name is almost lost into the silence.

Grace rests his face in his hands. He could still hear it firing through his head. Melon-balling his ears out. It hurt.

Resonant frequency of humans, fu- Christmas Eve, of course-!

It hadn't even crossed his mind that something like this could happen. Eridian's, with their highly musical and tonal based language. God, he'd been dumb. How had it never occurred to him that there could be certain words or phrases or anything that could actually hurt?

Like nails on a cork board, but so much worse-

"… Grace?" Rocky questioned, tilted ever closer. He was worried, Grace could easily see that. But Rocky was being cautious too.

"One second, Rock, I just need to-" Grace paused for a moment, pushing his laptop free from his lap and just letting his head tilt forwards. Letting it hang, really. He breathes in deep and lets it out again, then repeats.

Again and again.

The nausea isn't shifting. The ringing pain of a headache is still there. It's like he can still hear the noise.

Rocky looks so worried, just standing there. Grace can easily tell his friends wants to do something, wants to try and reach out and help, but doesn't want to make anything worse. Does not want to cause something worse.

Grace can already see the guilt blooming, and tries for a smile that only half works, but he hopes it's enough at least, "I'm okay."

The chime of refusal meets his ears and almost has him curling on himself again. Rocky now seems to have found the drive and permission to mother-hen, he gets ever closer. Tries to catch Grace's eyes in an action only time with a human can develop. He's stood over Grace's lap, no weight being laid anywhere.

As if he's worried he's going to hurt him. Bruise his skin, make another mistake.

Grace can only wonder the reaction he'd had if he'd accidentally hurt Rocky. The shock, the drowning guilt. Neither of them could have known. Neither of them had actually thought that-

Rocky's voice fades back into existence, and Grace hadn't even realised his mind had clocked out, "Rocky hurt Grace. Question. Rocky cause pain." Rocky's so visibly cowed at the notion.

Grace shakes his head quickly, before he has to stop with the budding sickness driving it's way up his throat, the way his vision swims. Dark spots dance in his peripheral. Another shaky breath escapes.

He presses his hands to his ears, adding a little pressure until a rocking, gust-like tone settles into place in the silence. Then lets go, and repeats again.

His eardrums are ringing even afterwards.

"It's okay," Grace tries again, looking over at the quickly pacing, shifting mass of stone and xenon as Rocky moves back and forth through the small room. Turning his body, tracing the area with a much more quiet noise. He'd scared him. "I'm okay."

Grace can feel guilt swimming in his chest. He should have tried to play the pain off as a joke. So much for that.

Plus, it wasn't easy to pull a wall over Rocky's eyes.

His racing heartbeat would have given him away easily.

Rocky is hovering, lingering. Chirping softly. Clicking lightly. Tiny small taps against the floor display the nerves flowing through his body.

Explanations. They always helped. Always worked with grounding people. Rocky likely already understood what had happened; probably definitely already did.

Grace needed something else to focus on that wasn't his brain vibrating in his skull, so this would help him too, "Sometimes, sounds can cause pain if they're too sharp. I should have warned you-"

"Yes, yes, yes! Should have warned Rocky! You have never mentioned before, statement! Never, never, never!" Rocky enunciates, growing louder until Grace winces, though that he knows is accidental, especially with how Rocky quiets quickly, softly, "Rocky hurt Grace."

So maybe he hadn't realised…

Grace reaches forwards to try and hold Rocky at least a bit more still. An attempt to get him to focus, at least. Rocky thankfully stills in his trepidation, yet still seems wary. Like he's worried he's going to make another mistake.

It was an accident. Simple as.

"It was an accident, Rock. I promise. It's never been a problem before, this is on me." His hand brushes against the collapsible glass pane on the side of the suit, and his palm lightly dips in to try and at least give some semblance of comfort to his worried alien friend.

Rocky pushes into the touch, limbs straightening into the light pressure, still humming in concern and palpable worry, "Human body squishy and leaky. Gross, gross." He adds, before pulling away and pressing a finger hard into Grace's chest, "Never mentioning things!"

Accusatory. He deserved that. An open book he was not. Not when it wasn't science related.

"It's like, remember when I said humans can sometimes feel the weather in their joints? This is," He massages his forehead, his eyes feel too big for his skull. His nose feels warm. "This is similar. Sound and pressure, and human squishiness. Bad combo."

"Should have known. Should have realised-"

"Hey, no," He taps lightly against the top of Rocky's back. "We couldn't have." Grace takes a breath, rubs the corners of his eyes. Over his nose. Anything to try and help, really. He couldn't even ask Mary for a dose of painkillers with her being offline. Movement only made spots of fog dance in his vision, "We couldn't have known."

Grace easily reaches forwards to pull Rocky into more of a hug, if at least to calm him down. The fussing and guilted worry halts if for a few seconds as warmth flows through Grace's arms. Resting his forehead against the top of Rocky's carapace has the same result, a nice flourishing heated comfort running through his skin and easing the ache just barely, "It's fine, buddy. I promise. Takes a lot to take me down."

Something wet drips down from his nose.

It's warm and rolls, drawing a line at an angle where Grace has smushed his face against Rocky's suit. The sensation ends with a soft tink of a drip as it hits against the top of the xenon glass.

And then rolls in a red rivulet down to the floor.

Rocky freezes in place.

Grace's hand shoots up to his nose when the dripping sensation doesn't immediately come to a stop.

He pulls his hand away for a second, to just assess the situation, coming face to face with a small pool of blood sitting between his palm creases. Bright crimson and tacky, sloshing in the fading light of the day. A small puddle.

Iron tinges his mouth as a line runs over his lips, metal stains the air around him and all Rocky does is stay there.

Staring at the mark dripping in front of him.

The drip of warmth coming from one nostril doesn't come to a stop. Grace's hand immediately shoots back up to cradle against the flow of his blood as he moves to stand up sharply.

He's going to stain the blankets.

A red line drips free, marking a path down his forearm and dripping free off his elbow. It itches. It's sticky.

It spreads over his shirt where it lands as a reddish black stain.

Rocky is still watching. One claw lifts to press against the blood over his suit. It smears under a digits contact. Pills and leaks into the texture and souldering marks over the once carefully cleaned atmospheric marvel.

Grace can basically see Rocky staring. Taking the situation in. Mind running a mile a minute. The last time Rocky had likely seen blood had been-

Had been when escaping Adrian's orbit. With Grace's head cracked against the Hail Mary's control panels, the pressure crushing and choking his lungs with each painful second that had ticked by.

Grace was sure he could still hear the echoed shriek of horror from that time. The inability to help, to save a friend without risking their own life.

His bloodied hand lifts up to press at the now healed scar on the left side of his head. It brings with it the blood he'd tried to hold. His face must look like a mess, his upper lip feels wet and uncomfortable. His nose feels heated, metal coats his tongue.

That finally spurs Grace out of surprised shock and into action. A nose bleed? From nowhere?

Well, not nowhere. Damn, he must have burst a vessel. He doesn't want Rocky to see, even though that is a unattainable hope. He's already failed in that respect.

Grace stands quickly, moving to get out of Rocky's room before he makes anything worse. He steps towards the doorway.

His legs nearly collapse out from under him.

That's something that gets Rocky moving in an instant. A distanced stare to action in a blink, in the midst of Grace's gradual and oh-so-slow drift towards the ground on legs that felt like jelly in the sun.

Blood was still collecting in his hand. He was going to make a mess if he didn't get moving. But the wall was now the only real thing keeping him up, keeping him steady.

"Grace must stop! Remain seated!" Rocky moves to what is basically underfoot, between Grace's legs, and he sees the purpose. The offer of stressed help. After all the times Rocky had supported his malnourished form back into bed in Mary, Grace can see that he's doing the same now. His head felt like it was crammed with cotton.

He presses one hand flat against the top of Rocky's suit to keep himself steady, and Rocky pokes his defacto head up to meet him half way in the stretching trial to find something to support himself on.

"I'm fine, I'm okay, Rock-"

"Lies. Lying human. Statement. Grace lying, repeating. Bleeding, bleeding-!" Rocky forces out. Sharp, but not like before.

This is growing out of control.

There's still that line of red moving down the xenon. Grace caused that. Grace caused this.

Grace tries another step with Rocky's support, and this time it goes okay. His limbs still feel weak, off kilter. But he's moving.

Rocky clearly doesn't like the idea that he's facilitating movement, "Grace must remain seated! Must wait, will go find help. Medical Eridian."

"It's just a little blood, I need to get to the bathroom-" Yet the wall is still pressing against his shoulder with enough support, probably the only thing keeping him from keeling sideways.

"No! No, no, it is not little blood. It is bad. Painful hurt bad. Disorientated."

He's made it to the doorway of the room before his legs try to give up on him again, and despite Rocky's insistence on going and finding his now regular medical team, Grace knows that his friend isn't going to leave his side. Especially when the said friend is probably the only thing keeping him steady enough on his trip to the bathroom.

Armando swoops in now that the arm's rigging is able to reach. The silicone cased fingers of the mechanism clasp lightly around his upper arm, Grace feels both reluctant and appreciative of the help.

It's like the sound has knocked his brain into baby fawn mode. The surprise of the situation, the shock of the occurrence, the fact that Grace had been through so many other things in comparison to this; and yet a nosebleed and a surprisingly loud sound has got his body going into an overdrive of adrenaline.

At least the added help allows Rocky to slip away from being the main anchor of Grace, and he watches the fact that Rocky is staring. Not moving away. Legs twitching and swaying as if, even though the alien had proposed a plan not a minute earlier, keeping an eye on the bleeding human was apparently far more important. Hums and the odd shrill chirp of concern and surprise doesn't cut through his mind like the knives of before, but it doesn't stop his chest from tightening at the worry shown.

Grace straightens, a little unsteady. He's sure he can feel a migraine building. Pressure behind the eyes, the flaring of light and the lines spawning off of them in the edges of his vision. Blurs. Flares.

He makes it to the bathroom without much incident.

The sink is an ivory white for only a few seconds before Grace leans over it and lets the blood cupped into his hand finally flow down the plug. It gets caught by residual water from that morning, pilling and diluting and running in staining curls out of sight.

Grace isn't sure why the amount of blood is shocking to him. The constant and a little too fast tink, tink, tink, into the bowl. He plugs his nose. Tips his head back.

Iron runs down his throat before he realises what he's doing is stupid instinct and something he'd have expected from his middle-schoolers, admonishing himself internally as he tilts his head back forwards and just allows the blood to run freely. It'll stop soon.

It'll stop soon.

Grace clears his throat, spitting up the gross throat-blood into the bowl in a stodgy splodge. His skin feels stretched and gross, his shirt is covered in drips and streaks of missed bits of blood. His hand, now that he's free to stare at it, it marked with red too. It's dried into the lines of his palm, under his nails and staining the skin with deep crimsons and near blacks.

Tracks move down his arm, ending at his elbow where it had all clearly dripped off. Some caught by the side of his shirt in a large splotched stain, but the rest-

Grace is more than certain he'd left a red trail being himself.

Like burns into the flooring, the smell of singed metal and soot.

Maybe he's panicking too. A little.

He breathes, lets the blood flow into the sink. Coughs around the taste of metal.

Armando is still carefully supporting his upper arm, though a brush of his hand has the robot pulling away but still hanging close on its rigging. Grace is sure he can keep his footing now he can properly deal with the situation. No bleeding everywhere, running water, there's no point in cleaning himself up yet with his still dripping nostril but its something he can look forwards to in his future.

His skin is itchy, flakes of dried blood come off as he scratches.

He's made a mess.

Rocky is still directly at him from behind. It's a blessing he's got so much more of an ergonomic exo-suit because he can feel the way his friend has reached up, three digited hand splayed out over his back as if to comfort.

Or to prevent any falls. Grace was susceptible to them on any given day, really.

Rocky trills around the lightening pressurisation in his skull. It's soft, something with no substance really other than the desire to empathise and care.

The patter into the sink is probably all Rocky needs for his echolocation to give him an image of the constant bloody flow, though the leakiness of the human body hasn't swayed him away yet. Rocky was anything if not resilient, Grace supposes that's what happens when someone insists on watching him eat and then spends years in close quarters with an alien roommate.

Grace knows so clearly that he's being stared at. Even with the overall quiet of the bathroom, just a sink and a toilet in this smaller section, Rocky's careful circles on his back is all he's actually doing. No tapping limbs on the floor, no circles to orient his body.

Just frozen contemplation.

"Grace injured, statement." Rocky shuddered, full body, "Rocky hurt Grace."

"No. No, you didn't." Grace drags at some tissues on the counter-top, reddens some of them, the rest get pushed up into his nose as he turns to look down at his friend to try and force his point across. He want's to reach out in return, comfort Rocky too. But the last thing Grace wants to do is smear more blood over his suit.

The tissue up his nose is already getting sodden.

Though his brain feels far less heavier now that the sudden panic and stress is over. God, he hopes Rocky is feeling the same relief too.

Just two guys trying to change a light-bulb. How hard could it be?

The migraine is gradually shifting, leaving exhaustion and an ache in his face in return for his troubles.

Rocky just seems to ignore his attempt at dissuading any form of blame as he shifts forwards, stands on his hind limbs to look up over the counter. It's an action not exactly needed by the Eridian, Grace knows in that moment Rocky could see every inch of the inside and outside of the house from his position.

The soaked tissue gets dropped into the sink, Grace replaces it quickly.

He thinks it's slowing down. Maybe. Possibly.

That's not important right now.

Any attempt at dissuading the worry is effectively met with a rock wall, "No, Grace leaking. Bad, bad leaking. Medical team."

Hey, woah, not needed. Not then, not now. Grace shakes his head sharply. He didn't need any prodding at this moment, he'd be fine. He tugs the tissue from his nose to try and make a point, though warmth keeps flowing and he plugs his ass-of-a left nostril back up.

Rocky whines softly, and the noises are simple to Grace's ears. Quiet, measured, and Grace screws his eyes shut. He hadn't meant to scare his friend over something so silly. They couldn't have known. All of this is new, everything about everything was a learning curve. No one was to blame.

He didn't need Rocky to be worried over the idea that simply speaking would hurt him.

"You didn't hurt me. Not on purpose." Grace reaches behind his back, fumbling around for a moment before he tracks down Rocky's arm and carefully wraps his fingers around the warmth of the suit. Squeezing didn't do much due to the suit, though Rocky stills anyway. A much calmer slowing, light tapping against the floor, rushes of air escaping his vents. Grace gestures up to the tissue up his nose, the paper nasalling his voice, "You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

Rocky looked appalled in less than a second, "What? Stupid question, statement! Dumb, dumb, dumb, Rocky would never-!"

"Exactly." Grace spread his hands out, turning to his friend as if that answer had been obvious. "You didn't mean it. No hard feelings, buddy. Trust me. It just caught me a little off guard. So don't worry. Please."

Rocky shifted and the glance at Grace's bloodied hands wasn't missed. Grace slipped his hands behind his back quickly, a grimace of a smile on his face. Tissue tickled his nose.

There was a low whistle, before Rocky settled on actual words. He fiddled first, tapping two of his forelimbs together for a short second before he seemingly found what he wanted to say, "Rocky always worry, humans soft. Hurt, statement." There was a pause, and then, "Will get Medical Eridian's anyway."

"Hey, wait, no-" Grace shook his head before turning back to the sink, pulling the tissue free to tempt fate. He did not need a medical check-up for a nose bleed. That was blowing things out of proportion, pulling Eridians away from other probably important work that didn't include checking their resident person wasn't actively succumbing to some ailment.

Grace had experienced enough actual diseases and ailments to last him an Eridian lifetime.

"It'll stop, look. It's probably already scabbed over." His nose, like the traitor it was, kept on dripping. Rocky saw this and even looking away, Grace could hear the sound that encompassed an I told you so before walking followed. "Wait a sec, it'll stop-"

"No, no. Will not wait. Medical now. Mary-" The noise falls short before Rocky corrects himself with the sharp realisation that the initial issue hadn't actually been fixed. "Armando, alert the medical, please."

The robot swiveled on the pendulum, the grippers turned. Clasped. So that was probably a yes.

Maybe.

Even Armando didn't have his back.

Rocky was making his way towards the front door to make sure the message had properly been sent. His echolocation didn't extend worldwide, after all. Grace was a little thankful for that.

Though he also couldn't follow Rocky and get him to take a second and let the situation fix itself. Grace didn't want to drip his blood anywhere else in his home. "Darn it. Rock, I promise I don't need to be checked. Get back here!"

Rocky's answer came back swift. Clear. "Grace make stupid statement, statement. Rocky ignoring blood-loss brained Grace. Like tired Grace." The chime was retreating down the hall, all the while being a fading facetious to shroud the still present worry beneath. "Must check brain is not worse than normal."

Rocky was definitely feeling a little better, because Grace's eyes widened in audacity, "Hey, uncalled for!"

A chirping laugh echoed its way back.

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It hadn't taken long for the bleeding to stop. Nose bleeds never really did last for long, and if that wasn't the case then it was definitely something worth looking into. Either way, Grace still found himself in the medical bay built for one human person even after all the extra attempts to sway Rocky away from causing too much of a stress over what in reality was a simple situation.

They could make a pillow pile back in his house, throw blankets on the living room floor and cast the laptop to the Mental Health unit screens to have a high quality Google search on safe sound rangers and specific hertz to avoid concerning 'your new human'. He had the entirety of human knowledge at his fingertips thanks to Stratt and her circumvention of every property right and copyrighting laws to ever exist.

That meant nothing in the face of the worrier and ever caring Rocky who, whilst helped with possible information and a good conversation about human hearing and the drive to help figure out a logical plan forwards; a blanket fort and doom-scrolling videos wouldn't help with Rocky's now worry.

Grace wouldn't admit it, but he could also kinda appreciate a proper work-up after the surprise bleeding. If just to check that he wasn't walking around with blender mush where his brain was meant to be.

And as much as he didn't like it, the medical suit was familiar enough. Some of Mary's equipment had been analysed and even pulled from the shuttle to set up for easier access; connected directly to the Eridian Airlock where people came and went throughout the day if they needed to get into his dome, so basically Rocky and Adrian for the most part.

It made for easy checkups where two different environments were needed for some of the equipment to work, and a solid base of operations. It was a nurses dream, all medical equipment in close quarters where possible, intermingled with a scientists dream of Eridian built replicas of other useful apparatus they could interact with.

And one bed, which currently had Grace seated on the edge of the Eridian human conglomerate of an apparatus made him feel like a kid.

The nervous butterflies in his stomach solidified that point.

He wasn't a fan of hospitals. Or medical stuff. That smell of antiseptic and alcohol. Needles-

Adrian moved their way into his line of drifting sight. Tall teal and browned body reaching up to a solid chest height had he been standing up. Grace gave a smile and a thumbs up on instinct. He was good. Tired, but good.

A thumbs down would probably worry Rocky, even though there was only one person in that room with a rotating wrist and upwards facing thumbs. The rest were Eridian's, walking about, checking charts and electric screens of the tests he'd spent the last hour doing. That little quirk of translation could go pushed to the side for a second.

Everything was fine.

Adrian was still going to properly check anyway. He could see why themselves and Rocky were a match made in heaven, always worrying over him like he over them. There was a light poke between his eyes, Grace blinked in surprise.

"How does your head feel, friend-Grace?" A small stomp. A couple of the team, Eridian's Grace recognised as his core medical buddies, and a few fresh faces turned to listen to his answer.

"Better." And that was the entire truth. Easy, simple.

Rocky huffs from one side, brushing around Adrian with a doubtful tone. Still worrying. "His face was leaking. Not the sad, weepy emotional leak."

Grace pinched his forehead with a sign, then pulled away just as quick at Rocky's concerned whistle. He looked up fast, flashing a smile, "Whoops. Sorry, I'm fine. I'm good, no worry needed." He glanced down at Rocky, "Just a popped vein. Noise can sometimes cause that. No biggie." Normally in the ears went unsaid. Nose veins were weak enough anyway, Grace had caused enough damage by digging for gold when he hoped no-one was looking.

No amount of explaining and saying he's now fine seems to have Rocky convinced.

The medical team overall seemed settled enough, moving back to their tasks at hand with attention flitting from screen to scanner where needed.

"Noise does not always cause that. Grace would be bleeding a lot, a lot. All the time. Messy." Rocky eventually acquiesces, using small handholds on the gritted rock of the beaches exposed cliff wall to clamber up to Grace's bed, slotting himself by his side.

Adrian seemed to also understand that fact. It had taken a bit of checking and testing his hearing, but the overall prognosis was positive. One occurrence was something to observe but nothing to worry over, really.

Eridians had gained a crash-course in human hearing; Adrian had been more than thrilled to hear that humans had tiny crystals in their ears for balance.

"Ear damage would explain the disorientation." Adrian hums, lifting one claw to carefully tug the trapped blanket out from under their mate easily. Then they flattened down the creases in the bedding that Rocky had left behind in his clambering. Rocky hums softly, tapping the shell of his suit against Adrian's own as their arms passed by.

Grace smiled at the interaction. Any form of issue on Erid would always be worth the fact that Rocky was safe and home.

Even the observations and prodding that did make him feel just a little bit naked. Especially with a thrum of Eridians noting down his words along with symptoms.

"This would have been a common situation if human body was weaker. It is weak, but not so much." Adrian nods slowly, the comparison to Eridian biology was always interesting. Grace could listen to the human race be dragged for hours if it meant learning something new.

Like how some Eridian noises were too high pitched for his ears to actually hear. A walking dog whistle, Adrian had seemed extremely interested in the lack of hearing range. Concern had shifted to understanding and scientific interest once he'd explained that no, I can't hear that noise. Or that. Or that.

One of the newer Medical Eridians slowly drifted over to the side of the bed. Grace had seen them a couple times before. At the back of Thrums, observing the needed medical work if or when Grace eventually needed it. Their body was overall a shade closer to a salmon or coral pink. One of the more vibrant colours Grace had seen recently, as opposed to his kids in class. Maybe the younger generations were becoming more colourful?

Or adult Eridians grew duller?

Aside from the glaring factor of the modifications Eridians were prone to have, like the indents and crystals, Adrian was definitely a vibrant adult even without the bright mating gem they shared with Rocky.

That had absolutely been one of the more conversations they'd had during their trip through space back to home.

Grace had named the newcomer Kasi, like one of his old Earth students, Cassie. He'd not seen them for a while, though. Blending into the back, just like Cassandra on earth. Quiet, even when Grace had to call on her to answer a question. He knew she didn't want to be called upon, but he had to. Participation was sometimes needed.

Kasi did not like to participate too, in an entirely different way. Probably the only Eridian that wasn't swayed by the whole "hero-Grace" thing. Grace appreciated that sometimes. Hero worship made him feel a little weird sometimes.

Kasi's tone was steady and clipped, not real room for filler, "So, Rocky words caused human-Grace pain?"

Grace felt Rocky's warmth pressing against his side. He nodded easily, it had sort have become obvious. "It's absolutely a human thing, and a one off." Grace nudged Rocky, who tapped him back equally as hard. Adrian huffed at their messing. "The noise just popped my nose. There's a really thin vein there-"

"Wait. Fast talk, please slow." Kasi slowly weaved in, glancing down at a screen strapped to their arm.

That was fair, not every Eridian knew, or had to know English.

Grace tapped his nose, casual puppet show it was, "Nose has blood. Easily accessible." He looks at Adrian, who would likely translate the explanation in far more detail than Grace ever could hope to do. "Sensitive, hurt Grace. Accidental."

"Very accidental." Rocky confirms.

Adrian, as thankfully expected, quickly chimes off a concise sentence. A fast one too, Grace took a second to let the translation settle into his own mind.

Kasi hums quietly, thinking for a moment, then asks, "Can be purposeful?"

To know the range is to know how to prevent it, he supposes.

Adrian seems interested at that too. It wasn't as if Grace was avoiding that topic at all, it was just that wasn't exactly his area of expertise. He knew bits and pieces, but didn't exactly want to give wrong information. Maybe Kasi would like to take a look at Rocky's Portable Earth Thinking Machine.

Grace settles on a shrug, clearing his throat, "Sometimes. For other people, Earth-people, it can be a problem. Issues related to loud sounds. Panic. Overstimulation. Medical episodes."

Rocky translates the word list into a flow of, "𝅗𝅥♯ ♬ ♫ 𝅗𝅥♭𝅗𝅥-" without thinking. Helpful, and a space heater? Grace rests an elbow on the top of Rocky's carapace, which gained a chitter in response.

Rocky's tone has been softer since the house.

Grace wasn't going to admit that his brain was still ringing, just a little. An Armando drug cocktail of pain relievers and migraine relief would be great as soon as he got back home, and a solid nap. Maybe a nap too tomorrow, unless he had class.

The way Adrian was looking at him was an indication that he might be put on bed-rest. Rocky would naturally side with his mate. Understandable.

But where was the bro code when he needed it?

"It's not something to worry about," This is more geared down towards his friend, though Kasi is still listening, typing away quietly on their arm. "I've been hearing Eridian for years now, so this reaction is definitely a one-off." He gestures at his face, at the crust of blood he can feel whenever he speaks, dry and pulling on his skin, sticking his lips together intermittently. "Accident." Grace could really do with a warm, damp towel. Maybe soon. Hopefully.

The need to scratch at the red film was close to driving him up the wall.

Kasi hums briefly, "Will avoid harsh noises."

"It's a learning process. Learning means more noises, tones," Which means, if there's any likelihood for this to happen again, it's now. Rocky would have come to that conclusion too, Grace knows.

It had already been a good few months since he'd been planet-side and safe, hopefully that bodes well for the future and a lack of Eridian vocal issues any time soon. But if there was one surprise problem, that only ruled in possible other future accidents.

Grace pulls on the collar of his shirt to rub at the dried blood. The shirt is already written off, streaked with red. The design on it had already been fading from so much wear and cleaning, but now it had finally come to an end.

"Rocky is sorry for causing Grace pain." Rocky says after a moment, and Grace immediately looks down at his friend with wide eyes.

Grace shakes his head, before drumming his fingers softly over Rocky's back, "Hey, no sorry needed. Seriously, I'm fine. Mistakes happen, we learn."

Like learning how Eridians' heal, how they scab over, how the charcoal blackened stain and soot coming from a compromised vent organ meant good things, not bad things. Grace winced. Yep, they learn.

Adrian runs their hand slowly over the ridges on Rocky's forearm, a rhythmic clack follows at the movement. Rocky tilts his attention to the familiar noise.

Grace almost whithers at the interaction. He hadn't wanted to scare anyone, he didn't want anything to spook Rocky into being concerned over anything.

"Come here." Grace says, climbing down off the medical station bed so he's standing, and at perfect Rocky-on-bed height enough to pull him into a hug, his hands managing to meet at the back as Rocky leans a little of his weight against Grace's shoulder.

Adrian leans against his leg. One hand drifts down to the top of their carapace too. He's scared the both of them, Grace realises.

That thought hurts, he hadn't meant to cause such a mess. Both in his home, and in general.

"I'm sorry, guys. I didn't even think to warn you."

"Must think better." Rocky admonishes. If Grace listens, it's as if the words are almost smushed against his chest and being spoken into his shirt in a dulled tone, "Grace brain not think enough."

Grace can't bring himself to think of a good comeback, which only solidifies Rocky's own proof. All of the action and the surprise injury had been a lot for one day. One evening. That, and the dispersing migraine behind his eyes is definitely not helping. God, he needs a nap in a dark room with a cold pack over his eyes.

He can feel a yawn coming.

Rocky pulls back for a moment, "Grace clean Grace up. Than I watch you sleep."

Grace hums an affirmative at that. Couldn't have said it better himself, "Sounds like a great plan, Rock."

"Can Grace walk home?" Rocky questions, pulling from the hug but still remaining close enough. Close like an Eridian wants to be when rest is involved.

He doesn't feel as off-kilter as he had a bit back.

Grace nods easily, his legs feel more than fine now, "You'll spot me though?"

Rocky clambers down to the floor, "Yes, yes. Rocky spot when Grace fall over."

Adrian, at least this time, bats lightly at Rocky's shoulder. Rocky huffs, then carefully tilts his head towards Adrian's with a light dink of xenon.

"Rocky will watch Grace sleep. And then watch tomorrow."

No class it is, then.

Grace gives a soft smile down at his friend, "You'll help me clean the blood off the floor, right?"

"Grace pushing it."

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It takes a few days for Grace to actually start to feel right. The day following the surprise head-hurting nose-bleeding noise had been rough; lights being that bit too bright, the artificial light of the projected sun in his dome arching through his windows in just the exact wrong angle that he'd woken up to a straight beam of light striking his corneas.

But aside from a lingering headache, and Armando and Rocky hovering around him, basically nipping at his heels the both of them, every time he got up to do something; grab food, get a drink, go on a beach walk-

And getting the results of his scans back to find his brain was clear. No surprise aneurysms or the like. Just a shock to the system, really. A ruptured blood vessel and cranial pressure, like he'd thought.

"Grace brain actually there!" Rocky had chirped when seeing the scan, as if he'd never actually seen it before, and Grace hoped the whithering look he'd given to his friend had hit the mark.

He'd laughed about it later on though.

He was still laughing about it now, technically. If a huffed breath and an eye roll could constitute as much.

And now he was back to teaching. His own little bubble of existence at the other side of his dome with a bunch of excitable Eridian kids separated by glass, rushing about over the layered stone of the classroom, chiming between each other in the last couple quiet minutes until they were dismissed to go and do whatever his students did until the following class.

Homework, tonight. Grace hated marking it, and he knew Eridians never exactly forgot anything ever, but it was a habit and the kids didn't mind.

It was more to help Grace anyway, to form ideas for future lessons and interests.

What would you like to learn about in the future?

"Alright, class," Grace claps his hands once and the low hum lessens as thirty kids turn to face him- or not turn to face him, more shift and adjust their legs and carapace- "I'll see you all tomorrow. You did great today, lots of really interesting questions."

There's a loud cacophony of chirps at the praise as his students bundled themselves towards the door and further beyond into the hive that was Erid.

He still sometimes had no idea what they were saying, but that was the same as any and all new classes he'd ever had. All that changing lingo. What happened to bro and gnarly?

Only a few stragglers remained collecting up their bits of equipment into pocketed belts.

"Am happy you are feeling better! Parent said you were too squishy." Mary trundled their way over to the glass, moving the surface in passing to take the long way around to the door.

Grace smiled back at the question as it bounced it's way through to his side of the dome glass, giving a quick thumbs down, "Never better, kiddo. You don't need to worry about me." A trill close to calm relief left the kid as the deep blue stone of their body disappears out the classroom door.

Carl came up afterwards, trailing just behind the shortest member of the class with quiet happiness, "Thank you for teaching, Mister-Doctor-Teacher-Grace! Are all stars as big as Sol?"

Oh, that kid really had no idea how big they could get. That would be an interesting subject. Even as a generation raised with the knowledge of their dying star, the warmth and density of the celestial body was still something that still needed to be extended upon in the base of Eridian knowledge.

Picking his kid's brains for class ideas was always a good idea.

They'd all missed him, apparently. Rocky had mentioned the kids and their parents had questioned his well-being after hearing about the accident. How he didn't need to rush back to teaching if he needed time.

Grace would never not rush back to teaching. Though he appreciated their worry. Eridians, kind to a fault.

He moved forwards, knelt down on aching knees to get closer to the kids height, which was already pretty substantial.

"Sol is tiny compared to so many other stars out there. There's this star, Beetlejuice, that is one million times as big as my Sol." Grace tapped his chest. His Sol. The star he'd actually saved.

Actually, that made him think. Could he see Beetlejuice from this side of the galaxy? Damn, thank god Mary was back up and running so she could do the star-map calculations for him.

"Woah, really?" The kids body swayed quickly from side to side. Excited, interested.

"Really," Grace smiles softly, "Remember when I told you about my solar system?" There's a building hum of confirmation, so Grace continues, "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars?"

"Yes, yes, yes. All through to the plutos and big rock cloud ring. Yes, understand."

"If Beetlejuice was where my Sol is, then it would reach out almost as far as Jupiter."

It wasn't often that Eridians were rendered speechless, but it doesn't last long until there's a trumpet of amazement in response, and Grace can see his work here was done. Carl was tapping their feet rapidly, pacing back and forth and back and forth, jumping up onto the stone steps of seating and back down closer to the glass in excitement.

Grace didn't think he'd ever get over how absolutely adorable it was to watch, though he cleared his throat, "On that note, you should get going, don't want to be late home."

"But- but want to talk big science with Teacher-Grace." Carl stills, stares back. Looks indignant. Kids these days.

"Aren't you getting collected today?" Grace raised an eyebrow.

Carl nods slowly, glancing over at the darkness of the doorway, "Yes, yes. Parent ♬¤♪𝄫♫."

"Don't want to keep them waiting." Grace reaches forwards to press his fingers against the glass between them. Carl's smaller claw eventually comes up, tapping at each fingerpoint individually as they thought over the fact that class time was in fact done for the day. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

That seems enough convincing as Carl turns around, and Grace pretends not to hear the distant trill of an adult Eridian sick of waiting for their pebble to be done after class. That seems to be what they need to take as their leave.

"Safe home walk, Teacher-Grace!" And then they're gone.

Grace stands, ignoring the way his knees creak as he moved to wipe off the whiteboard behind him, scrawls of shoddy circles and bits of maths in a mix of Eridian and Arabic numerals. They all got buffed off, board sprayed down with some water to make sure it stays clean for as long as possible. Nothing hurt Grace more than a grimy streaky whiteboard, especially after coming back from substitutes teaching his class and there'd dried dry-erase left staining his artists easel.

Neatening up papers on his desk, piling up his own scribbled post-its into a bundle to put into a folder later.

He'd put his glasses down somewhere earlier and had never put them back on. On the table, probably.

It's not.

Grace pauses, eyes floating over the scene in all of his blurry visioned glory until he's sure he sees a glint of light against something glass.

Score! Hanging half way out of the pocket of his Hail Mary mission hoodie, all patches frayed and striped design faded with use. He puts them back on, pushes them up on his nose.

Turns, and totally doesn't nearly scream when he finds he's still not alone.

Or he does. He'd thought all the kids had gone and, "Kasi-?"

He knows his heart-rate is giving away the shock, though Grace tries his best to remain calm. Or seem calm. An Eridian, one of his medical buddies, just standing there on the other side of the glass as if they'd totally been there for the entire time and he'd just overlooked them.

Glasses don't count towards the surprise. Grace lifts a hand to his chest for a second, before he realises it's been a bit too long of a second of him standing there in shocked silence for him to play his reaction off as cool and unbothered.

Kasi is just there.

Grace isn't due any checkups any time soon. Maybe tomorrow at some point, but that's down to what Adrian thinks is best, and he'd avoid it if he had a say in the situation. He'd been checked that morning, though Kasi had been unusually absent in the small group that had given him the official go-ahead to get back to class, Rocky and Adrian had been there at their own insistence.

Grace would have gone back to class anyway, with or without ambiguous permission from his closest friends. He couldn't sit still for too long under a concerned watch of a small group of Eridians before he found himself wanting to climb the wall and get back to his regular routine.

He still bent forwards, putting his hands on his legs for a second. Catching his breath. For science.

He'd definitEly not jumped there for a second. Normally if the Eridians needed him, it wasn't facilitated through the glass of his classroom. Appearing out of nowhere, sometimes he was sure he needed to tie a bell onto some select Eridians. Rocky was included in that list, "Kasi, hi. Geez, I didn't even hear you come in."

Kasi stared at him through the glass, their focus as set as they could ever be with having a three-sixty degree of observation. Something tells Grace that Kasi's attention is split, one half staring forwards, the other half glancing backwards. Towards the open doorways of the room, the ones that stretched off into the darkness of the planet.

A chill ran its way up Grace's spine. It cut beyond his knitted sweater, diving into the holes he'd yet to patch up, catching and cooling his skin, making his hair prickle and stand on end. He doesn't know how to describe it. It's likely just surprise, really. Of being snuck up on so easily. Of being watched so directly.

He ignores it, rubs off the imaginary ants that are crawling up his arms.

Ignores the way his eyes blur just a bit behind his glasses, staring through a window into a room beyond. Of a group of people, human people staring back. Watching Ryland as he works, talking quietly between themselves as he'd worked in a laboratory figuring out what made Astrophage tick.

A room full of argon gas, a thin suit between himself and unbreathable air.

"Am I expendable?"

And Stratt had paused, thought for a second. Even had to check with the other people in the room with her. Staring at him, waiting for a discovery or whatever else. Waiting to see what he would do next, discover next, reveal next-

Staring at him.

Grace isn't even sure why that memory surfaces in that moment, he's seen it before. He remembers it happening, at least in bits and pieces. Not the whole picture, he just knew he'd felt like a fish in a fish tank, being tapped at and watched constantly. But he brushes that, and the discomfort aside in favour of politeness and moving his attention elsewhere in the overall empty room.

It's definitely not like Eridians to find themselves watching, especially ones part of the direct groups that Grace regularly interacted with. He supposes that Kasi is new, so the interest and alien awe may not have shifted yet.

"So," he shifts from foot to foot, the texture screen next to his whiteboard is still showing raised markings. He must have missed some of the dry-erase, "You- uh, have a question or something? If you're wondering, Adrian gave me the all clear last night, so I'm fighting fit," He swings his arm in a small fist pump of victory, at least to himself, "Back in teaching form, if that's what you're worried about."

Damn, he's never been the best at talking with Eridians, the same with similar adults back on Earth. He had his crowd, and that was enough. A small, close and familiar group, and-

Kasi chirps.

And Grace's ears ring in return.

He sticks one finger in his ear, twists it to try and loosen whatever block of pressure that must have gotten stuck there. It's probably just residual ringing and hurt from a few days beforehand. Freeing his pinkie from his ear canal provides no change though.

Grace watches as Kasi shifts forwards, as if for a closer look. Nearer to the glass, closer to the two-way speakers lining the foremost area of his classroom. It echoed out the kids when they spoke, made the notes a little clearer, all ported through a program on his translator that picked up context clues and added in new words to his spreadsheet where it could.

Grace glanced over at his laptops screen for a more direct translation. The sound waves were there on the little tracker to the main screen's left, flowing in arcs of blue and green in steady waves as the chime continues; but there was no translation. No clear word with the noise.

That's… Weird.

Is the translator broken? First Mary, and now this too?

"Oh man, really?" Just a whole extra headache of some tech to deal with, "Sorry, Kasi, it's not working properly, just let me-"

Kasi chirps again, and this time Grace's attention shoots up at the noise. Striking behind the eyes, just like Rocky. The same tone. A higher tune, ranging between the second to last chord on a keyboard. Loud. The hertz were buzzing, sustained this time. Just like Rocky's trill of excitement that had caused a days worth of pain. Not by Rocky's fault, not by his choice. It had all been an accident.

The same estimated noise from back at his house. The one that his medical team had spent a good hour trying to narrow down and figure out to prevent future issues, future incidences. A gradual and short list of words to avoid at an increased volume, tones to mediate against. Estimated decibel and hertz ranges to avoid in order to spare Grace's own very human hearing, and equally flimsy pain tolerance.

This definitly wasn't a time to test a hypothesis or to gain results. Grace held a hand up, a hopefully now universal indicator for quiet, please! If Kasi was trying to say something, then Grace didn't know the translations. He just knows that it hurts. Tickles his skull in the wrong way, makes his tongue feel thick in his mouth. Everything he's been wanting to avoid.

A creeping feeling of exposure. Of discomfort and nausea spawned low in his stomach as Kasi doesn't slow to a stop. They continue. And the pressure only grows that little bit harsher with each second that ticks it's way by.

Kasi isn't stopping. Confusion hits first, then a careful wariness.

Don't catastrophise, Grace. Language barrier.

His raised hand isn't calming his raucous class of one. The thrumming buzz is moving through his teeth, messing with his inner ear.

"Kasi, can you stop?" Grace questions after a far too long second. "It's… uh- It's starting to ache a little. Please." The pleasantry is thrown on as an after thought. This is a misunderstanding. A mix up of intention compared to action. He's all for tests and experimentation. But in controlled settings, and definitely not so close to the last accident. One he's still recovering from.

Kasi doesn't seem to want to slow down, to lower their volume. They chitter forwards, crest close to the glass panes, disconcertingly almost trying to reach into Grace's atmosphere as if they're gleaning for a better view, a closer look, a closer and clearer way to observe the reaction to whatever test they're trying.

If they wanted to be closer, there were xenonite suits by the plenty. They didn't need to be trapped behind glass, though the speakers echoed the noise enough. Forced the noise further, louder, far sharper.

Biting, scratching, screeching at Grace's ears in a slowly building crescendo. His throat clicked in sudden dryness.

His palms were damp, head aching. He wiped his hands on his trousers to try and sway away the sweat, picking up the stray grains of sand that had blown and stuck to the material. Normally, that gritted textured feeling would have irritated him.

Not today. Not now.

Whatever this was, this needed to stop. Yesterday.

Grace didn't want to insult them, to say the wrong thing, but something just felt off. Wrong. Grace wasn't entirely an idiot when it came to social cues. Just… Too polite. Too trusting, maybe. Whatever this is, if it's interest or anything else, he's sure Rocky wouldn't be the happiest about it. But it is something they could push to the side, pretend it didn't happen. An accident, whatever it is this was an accident and they could ignore it.

His eyes are wincing at the thrumming buzz moving through his teeth."Bud, Kasi, you're hurting me."

He knows they can hear the thrum of his heart in his chest. The racing beat. The way oxygen prickles it's way into his lungs with each breath, coming a little faster and faster and… "Stop."

The tone doesn't lessen, only an overture of words flow above the painful notes, "I curious."

He needs to leave. Grace shuffles a step backwards.

Kasi can't move any closer, and on some level that's a relief. The glass prevents them. Grace can't imagine if they were in his dome, moving closer, unable to properly step away and maintain distance.

It still feels like they're lurking. His spine is stiff, cold. Like staring down a threat. A predator.

"Squishy human brain react different to Eridian." The noise gets louder, sharper, "Kasi want to know why."

"You need to stop!" Grace calls out, shouts more. He never shouts. Ever. There's never any need. But his chest is getting tight, his throat is getting thick and clogged and air isn't moving like it should be. His lungs are strangled, his heart ratcheting.

Kasi is still watching him.

And Grace realises, they're both entirely alone.

The sound cuts out. Thank god.

Grace lifts a hand to his nose, out of habit now more than anything. His fingertips come back clear. No red. Nothing like before. His head feels a little full, his thoughts fogged, but the lack of any bleeding is something that loosens the knot of tying, tingling that had been festering in his chest.

He massages his forehead, tugs on the sleeve of his sweater. He feels warm, so he pulls it fully off, folds it over one arm with shaking fingers. Grace blows out a breath, then another one. It's slow going, there's a light tingling in his fingers and toes.

It's okay. It's fine. Grace turns to throw his jacket over the back of his chair, then just uses the back of it to steady himself. It's not like a few days ago, it'll be fine.

"Don't understand." The voice buzzes from behind him, and on some level Grace doesn't want to turn back around. Whatever this is, he honestly doesn't want to know. Not right now, not with no observers.

Not without Rocky keeping an eye on things.

What wasn't there to understand? It hurting should be enough of an indicator.

Don't understand? Grace isn't going to do it, but he'd go and punch a hole into the proverbial wall. He wouldn't, maybe sooner throw a book at a soft surface. Tip a chair.

His legs feel like they're melting beneath him. Weak, unsteady. Off balance.

"What do you mean-?"

"How Grace hero, question?" The last couple taps are on the glass. Slightly hard, the thumping echoes out over the sand.

His hands grip a little tight around the chair frame, "What?"

"How human-Grace hero, question?"

Grace looks up, rubs his forehead carefully. He should go back to his home, alert Mary of the situation. Tell Adrian, Rocky- "I don't-"

"How human-Grace return when Eridians did not? Not home. Not yours. Eridians smarter, stronger, yet human come home."

Are they saying this isn't my planet? Well, that's pretty obvious. He's not made of stone for one thing, not suited to the gravity for another.

He can feel the tenseness beneath the words. The questioning. Accusing.

Something is telling him he needs to move. To go somewhere. Be anywhere else.

Or to freeze, stand still, hold his breath and watch as the proverbial T-Rex saunters in front of him, being falsely blind to non-movement.

Fight or flight, Grace's brain unhelpfully supplies.

He's not in danger, though.

He's not.

He can't be.

"Humans leaky and wobbly. I curious."

The next ring of noise barely truly registers in Grace's mind before he's grasping harshly at the side of his head, palms moving instinctively to cover his ears against a sound he couldn't hope to avoid.

It's so much harsher, weaving and striking into the air, dipping between his fingers and weaving it's way into his ears, through and striking into the matter of his brain as if there was no barrier to protect it.

It's sharp, like a hot dagger dipping in and worming around between his cells. It's not brief, like how Rocky's had been, not a simple expression of interest and surprise that had went awry.

This was purposeful. Vying for some unknown unexplainable conclusion to satiate an Eridians inexplicable curiosity.

Curiosity as to why he'd survived, how he'd made it back to his now home planet?

He knew that not all Eridians would have been joyful, happy and excited when a trip of twenty-three Eridians who had so much life in front of them were effectively swapped out for one single human. He wasn't so vein to believe that he could be loved planet-wide. It had been a small stress, a worry over going to a planet as an alien with all the awareness of what Earth would have been likely to do in the reverse situation.

But this.

This is purposeful.

He isn't even able to get a shout of pain out of his throat before he feels it stutter, seize in a torrent of agony and forcing any words back down into the gaping abyss.

A line of warmth finally worms its way down over his lip, collects and falls from his chin in an uncomfortable viscous drip. His hands are tense at the side of his head, uselessly cushioning; his nose his hot, his face is flush.

Chest struggling to pull in oxygen. He wants to wipe the wetness away, though his arms don't move. Teeth gritted, it just keeps coming. Keeps leaking, won't stop unless he holds it, blocks it. He needs a bathroom.

No, no, he's outside. He's on the beach. Sand beneath his shoes. The fog cool against his bare arms, mind tilting and slipping against the blaring molasses of the screech.

Grace can see through the glass with blurring vision. His thoughts are turning soupy, leaking and dribbling and falling through hands cupped in vain, trying to grasp onto the liquid like the fading train of thought.

He's going to be sick. His chest feels hot. There's a burning at the tips of his fingers, and an ozone static stinging his nose beyond what Grace is sure is the blood dripping free. He sniffles, feels as iron leaks down the back of his throat. Static burns his palms tangled within his hair.

Like a panic attack. Just deeper. Heavier.

He needs to… He needs to leave. Get back to his house.

Get away from the classroom, from Kasi.

Somehow away from the speakers. The clicking of Kasi's carapace as the stone there twitches with the chiming of the organ rocking out a consistent note that won't let out. Won't lessen or fade.

"Please-"

Eridian breathing was automatic. It didn't stop.

They could speak and breathe, eat and breathe, unable to ever hold their breath or prevent the rush of ammonia over mercury, unable to understand the human ability to hold their own breath when the Eridian species had never even been capable of such notion.

The noise wouldn't end.

Grace's blurred vision drifted down to the sand below him, coming face to face with a small pool of blood at his feet. Soaked into the grains and staining the pale fabric of his shoes. Mapping a thick and growing line down the front of his shirt and in lines over his trousers. Wet tackiness coating his palms at his ears, sticking his skin and drying in his hair. Something hot is collecting against the side of his head. Like water flooding the cavity, heated warmth like shower water.

Grace turns to leave, swiveling on his feet in an attempt to grasp on his only logical thought.

To get away from the danger in front of him.

He's alone, staring down a threat. He's scared. Leave the room. Leave the-

Get away, run, find someone who can help. To prevent-

No, no- No, he doesn't want this. He doesn't want to be-

Grace turns, only to see a desk directly in front of him. Pale wood grain and a grey painted wall just at it's back. A phone just on the edge, wired and office looking, a swivel chair on the other wide of the table. A human building, an office.

One he clearly remembers.

Stratt's staring back at him.

Grace's next step is a stumbling one, and his knees buckle, hit the sand. He hoped the pain would drag his mind back from the memories that are trying to take over, but all it does is sting his knees, jolt his hips, shudder his spine. It leaves his agonised mind alone, even though the fall shakes his brain in his skull. Head screaming, body shouting- lungs tying and choking. Vision pin-holing with greyed out focus and flares of Stygian blue.

Maybe it's him actually screaming too.

All of this is too much. Kasi's trying to break him, find the line and cross it. This isn't scientific exploration, Grace wraps his arms tight around his head as if to stave off the attack. No, it isn't an attack.

It's going to kill him.

Nose bleeding, ears bleeding, Iron and static and something tingling.

"Curious."

"Stop-, please, please! You need to-!" Grace chokes, sand is scratching over his arms as he tries to push himself up with near numbed hands. Sticking to the blood painting them. It's in his socks-

It's in his brain, it's in his brain!

Grace's body bows forwards onto the ground, chest heaving with the need to drag in air. It's like everything is weighed down. A harsh pressure against his mind, his organs, his back-

Like a knee pinning him down to the earth. Grabbing hands pulling his own wrists behind him as his hands tried to collect dirt, trap it beneath his nails, hold onto the dried grass of the launch base in an effort to not get pulled away, not have to be taken away, forced to leave-

A needle edged it's way closer and closer, spots dancing in his vision after the oxygen needed from his attempt to escape security. The rampant, near rabid run. The begging for freedom, to not send him to die.

Grace's ears are ringing.

His consciousness dips out for a brief second.

Coming back to himself almost feels instant, but Grace knows it's not. He's laid on his back on the sand now, when he had been on his front beforehand. Legs splayed out in straight lines., grooves were scratched into the beach by his heels and unknown movement, trenches carved in scrabbled lines and sand piled up aside it.

There were dried grains over his cheek, his tongue is thick and hurting. He'd bit it?

Grace tries to spit out the blood, it gets stuck to his cheek in an unsuccessful and gross attempt.

Hands bent up to his chest, fingers tense and clawed but at least now relaxing. Muscles softening.

His head is still stuffed with cotton, but at least the noise had finally ceased. He thinks so, at least.

He can't turn his head to check if Kasi is still there. He hopes they aren't. God, Grace hopes they're not just there, staring, watching his reaction in a place he isn't able to see.

His thoughts aren't working together enough for him to be overly concerned. Or even, working enough at all. His brain is coated in fluff, artificial sunlight alove dancing with auras in his vision. Dragging itself into lines of brightness and fuzzed indescribable blobs.

His limbs were heavy even being attached to him. Grace couldn't make his arms shift to push himself up into a sitting position, could barely even get his hands beneath himself to start the process.

It's like he's had so many sleepless nights that he's beyond exhaustion. Like when he'd written out his doctoral paper, or the subsequent follow-up scientific marvel on the humano-centric anti-water-based life form soapbox dissertation, the caffeine, the lack of eating properly. Being thrown out of the UNESCO Conference after shouting at the current speaker-

Then the stress afterwards. The shunning from his own scientific community. The sickness, the sadness, depression, anxiety-

All of the wariness and of seeing a few of his peers crash out during their thesis themselves, hospital trips, dropping out due to medical reasons; nothing prepares him for the absence of disorientation. Of his eyes rocking and feeling heavy in his skull.

Of the trickle of blood still rolling.

His head is burning. Grace's muscles ache.

Arms drifting s slowly back up to his sternum. Wrists tensing, curling.

Chin rocking forwards into his chest.

The blaring aura of light fades away as his eyes finally decide to roll back into darkness again.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

"Eye mov— det- c- ed."

Light floods in like a harsh wave. With each inch that Grace manages to get his eyes to listen, to get them open up and look around himself, spikes of discomfort shoot through his pupils. The room he's in is light, but not too much. There's a softness to it, a comforting familiarity against the headache that is spawning behind his eyes.

All that comes out with the return of his consciousness, is a groan of effort. Air rushing through a now clear nose and thoughts buzzing through an empty mind. No noise, no grating horrible loudness overtaking his senses and forcing him to the ground, to the beach- Drowning him under pain, choking everything out of him until…

Until he had been shaking on the ground. Unaware.

Body betraying him.

This time, he's actually able to actually get his hands beneath himself. Grace's palms meet bedding, his bedding. The softness of the crafted fabric, the comfort of the worn pillow at his back that is propping him up just that little bit. This only helps his aching arms, stiff muscles.

His favourite robot is floating just in front of him when he blinks the sleep out of his eyes, Armando floating a little over Grace's bed on its rig, armature tilting back and forth closer to a curious cat than anything else as Grace tried to get his bearings, jog his memory.

Definitely his room.

He'd been on the beach, he knew that, and now he was in his house, covered in his blankets, and Armando is above him with a needle held in it's grip.

A needle.

Grace's eyes shoot wide in a second, and if he wasn't awake before, he was now. "Woah, wait, absolutely not-" He lifts one hand out to protect himself, feet catching on his bedding and duvet as he pushes himself back away from the glinting metal.

Grace can feel his chest tightening, vision fixed on the syringe, the liquid sitting within it. Not coming closer, not coming closer-

That doesn't stop him from backing up that bit too far. Sheets bunching up, balance shifting as he reaches the edge of the bed and doesn't think fast enough to move and catch himself. Grace's legs tip up, swinging his centre of gravity further back as he very nearly falls into another injury.

Any shout of surprise is prevented by a hand wrapping quickly around his wrist, three claws careful against his skin as Grace hadn't even heard Rocky rush in.

Or had he been there the entire time?

"Grace okay, question?" There's no trill to it, no enunciation to the words or corded hum in the sentence. It's said easily, softly. Rocky moves forwards, righting Grace in his position on his bed before he actually does fall off. The help is highly appreciated.

Grace's eyes drift over to Armando's needle, and a nodding shift of Rocky's body has their robot dipping away elsewhere into the house. He better be getting rid of the needle, dumping it and destroying it or something, anything else. Grace rubs the side of his neck. He needs to track down every single little metal poking device and-

"Friend-Grace?" Rocky questions again, and this time grace turns to look at his friend with a soft hum on his lips. It buzzes through his bones, ears ringing with a new tinnitus.

Grace clears his throat, he should get a drink, "Shi-ugar, Rock, what did you say-?" God, his hearing is messy. Like he has something in them. He moves to stick his fingers into his ears, trying to figure out the blockage.

A brush against the outside of the ear canal had his hands jolting away quickly, a hiss of pain through his teeth. Rocky's hands are up, as if he's reaching over to get Grace to not get close to his head. Grace understands it now, the budding pain, the hurt and memories of noise and striking sharpness and…

His hearing is severely muffled. A swell of nausea buds up his throat but he swallows it down, plays it off. Thankfully. It's fine, it's all totally okay. He breathes out hard.

"Grace must not touch." Rocky said, tittering between his legs before he apparently decided he needed a better, closer look. That meant a creaking mattress and a almost too heavy alien propping himself against his side. "Grace injured. Adrian help fix, but healing will take a little time."

Grace looks down at him, winces at the hum of Eridian. It's not too bad, nothing like it had been. But his everything is like a live wire, sensitive. Waterlogged, with ringing ears and body aches. He's watching. staring really. "I'm feeling… better?"

It's a lie. A very bad one. Grace feels shocking, off kilter in a way he isn't able to describe.

It all feels so numb. Absent.

He's glad his translator is sat open on the table beside his bed. Words being written out on the screen as Rocky talks.

His head is burning, his eyes are flaring even at the dark setting of the screen. The added subtitles to reality is quietly welcomed.

Rocky must be worried, like he doesn't want to do something wrong but simply wants to sit close, neither does he look convinced, "Will be quiet, quiet, quiet."

Grace isn't sure exactly, but Rocky looks tense. Angry. Choosing his words carefully.

Grace nudges him, tries to keep his friends attention whilst glancing at the screen to check if and different words are showing up. Rocky at his side lets the light vibrations run up his side, but not enough detail is getting it. Bits and pieces, but it's not enough. God, his ears have been through he wringer.

One accident, that was a quick enough recovery. But two? So close together, the latter so severe?

The latter so resolutely not an accident.

Something close to a tense chill settles over his shoulders. Something that almost makes him glance towards the room's doorway. He clears his throat anyway, tries to ignore the pain and the stress, "I- Uh, do you know where-?"

"Kasi was found leaving the classroom." Rocky answers quickly, with relief now coating his voice being something Grace can at least pick up on. It's rare that Rocky is so serious to the point that small talk feels a little bit like pressure.

But Grace at least now knows that Rocky knows… Something. The words are plane, to the point. Said without fanfare and a near clinical emotional distance.

And knowing that Kasi was found, and Grace's injuries have been looked at. The blood over his hands and face is gone, he can feel the absence. So Rocky absolutely knew something.

Grace is a little worried to know what that is.

The words show up on the screen as if his mind is being read. That definitely isn't something he wants to think about too hard, the idea of fingers wiggling into his brain and… Grace shifts back on his bed, back to his pillow, hem of his sleep-shirt being picked between his nails. The white typeface stares back at him in stark clarity.

"Class camera caught… All."

Oh. Oh. Grace glances at Rocky for a second. His recording set up for his lessons.

Rocky is now staring at the floor, "Grace had seizure, statement."

Wait, what-?

Grace's eyes widened, pulled his legs up to his chest in a quiet reaction. He would not freak out. He wouldn't. Breathe, breathe, "I had a seizure?"

There was a rock forwards in affirmation, "The noise, Adrian said they think it-" It wasn't often at all that Rocky didn't know fully how to say what he wanted.

So Grace could finish for him at least, "Kasi was testing things, I think." He found a loose thread, pulled on it. It didn't snap, "I don't think they meant to-"

"If Grace say they did not mean harm, Grace is idiot!" Rocky's voice shot out, and he flinched at the volume beside himself. Though he understood, yet Rocky shrank, looked smaller than ever, "Sorry, sorry, but is true. Grace, always thinking best, always trusting. Dumb, dumb, dumb-"

He dragged Rocky into a tight hug at his chest. If the xenonite suit was good for anything, it was this little bit of contact that Grace needed. The warmth from his alien friend, the ability to get a hug and tightness and pressure and…

His throat choked up as the whole situation settled in onto a more aware mind.

He'd been attacked. Targeted. Hurt.

Purposefully.

That swirled a small pool of nervousness in his stomach. It was one Eridian, one single outlier after a long while of friendly and helpful faces and… And this one could have ruined so much so quickly.

Kasi wasn't here.

Rocky was. Grace rested his chin against the top of the xenon glass, the warmth was a pleasant balm to his aches, it always was.

They sat like that for a few minutes. A settled silence. There was so much Grace wanted to ask, wanted to check; but he knew if anything was as of real importance or pressing, such as permanent injury or concerns, Rocky would have already told him.

Already mentioned it.

… A seizure?

No. He could think about all of that tomorrow. Or in a few days, when his mind was actually working. That didn't stop a couple small tears from prickling at the corners of his eyes. He should ignore it. Ignore it now. Focus on other things.

Grace held Rocky a little bit tighter, not that his friend seemed to mind. He could feel the tapping rhythm of weighted stone against his back. Calming. This was calming.

Not like before. Not like the strangling pressure and pain and the inability to run and-

"We will have a thrum to decide the repercussions." Rocky eventually says, Graces eyes flicking down to muffled noise and to the screen briefly to check that he heard correctly, "There has been extreme outcry towards the attacker of hero-Grace."

It had been a bad choice, a very bad action. Whatever the reasoning, whether what Kasi had said had been their honest resenting truth around their actions, Grace had no idea what repercussions meant in this case. The idea of anything like this happening had never even crossed his mind.

The idea of someone getting backlash severely from- from a situation that spawned from multiple uncontrollable happenstances. Grace's brow furrow, the crease aches his forehead, "Nothing too bad though, right?"

Rocky balked at that pulled back just a little before Grace solidly caught him in the hug, the shock of the response was caught into Grace's shirt, "Kasi hurt Grace. Statement. Bad, calculated. Planned!"

Grace winces, though presses his own nod against the glass caught in front of him. Sure, sure, that. There was that. A planned attack. Hearing damage… The other thing.

Ignore it-

"Rocky should have checked, should have known."

"Rock," Grace interrupts as best he could, "You couldn't have known." God, its like having déjà vu in the worst way. All this comforting Rocky, Grace would do it to no end and for any possible reason, but to have to do it…

To see his friend so stressed, so hurt?

"Adrian found you. Bleeding. Wouldn't wake up. Worried, scared." Rocky trilled, keened. "Got you back here. Mary working."

"Hey, hey, it's okay."

"Is not! Grace hearing damaged. Body hurt. Eridian fault."

God, he'd really scared Rocky.

Grace had scared himself too. He was hurting, exhausted. This day was one he couldn't wait to put behind himself, "Not Eridian fault."

"No, wrong. Is fault. Is caused by Eridian, is fault!"

Circles, they're returning to the circle from a few days ago.

Fault.

Rocky managed, somehow, to bury his body a little deeper into the crook of Grace's hugging arms, "Apology. Great apology."

Grace moved one hand up to the collapsible xenon screen on the suit, running slightly numbed fingertips through the surface. Pressing onto Rocky's carapace, rolling in small consistent circles against the stone in a calm silence.

A minute ticks by. Then two.

Grace can feel his own heartbeat slow down, he hopes Rocky's body has taken the same action. With the crash of emotion, the lessening flow of adrenaline, Grace is sure his eyes are drooping.

"It's not-" A yawn breaks it's way free. "Is never your fault."

That movement seems to quell Rocky's current budding stress, shifting it to a cautious softness of having something else to focus and think about, Grace doesn't for a second halt the circles on Rocky's back. "But-"

Grace shook his head lightly, though regretting the movement didn't make his point to quietly shut up any less clear. A soft shh falls from his mouth, "Rocky, be quiet."

That seems to at least quell Rocky's worried, his stress. It drifts into a companionable quiet, and Grace finds himself carefully rocking, back and forth, with Rocky still circled in his arms.

He's flagging, the warmth of the suit in front of him is inviting. Calming.

Rocky doesn't miss the shift, Grace only hopes his friend is more than ready to take the out for the conversation, at least for today. Tomorrow, they could talk. But tonight…

"Time bed, question? Grace sleep time."

Grace allows one eye to glance outside the window just to the right of his bed, its cracked lightly. Salty breeze flows in through the space, its clearly still light out. Midday probably. He wipes at the sleep in his eyes. His skin is free from blood. Definitely is.

He can't imagine the sight Adrian must have come across. What Rocky may have seen. The blood, the injuries. The seizure? The shaking and any and all ability to explain the situation taken away with tremouring muscles and vocal chords. Of flailing hands and a misfiring brain.

Rocky must have clocked his heavy exhale, they both wanted to talk, but waking up for the first time wasn't the best time for anything too deep.

"Talk about it tomorrow." Grace couldn't have said anything nicer himself. "Should be resting." Yep, Rocky was thinking the same. Saying the exact right words for his drifting awareness and the want for sleep.

But the idea of rest itself felt like it would be interrupted, interspersed with pain he could do nothing about. Laid back, staring at the light of day with squinted eyes and a raging migraine and… And for all he knew, he could have another seizure.

Grace had no idea if he would actually be able to rest after everything, actually. Never mind the bone-deep exhaustion. "I think I'm all slept out, bud."

Rocky's face has no features, but even Grace can see the stare of withheld disapproval.

Grace sighed. The light from outside was weaving into his headache. "Plus, it's daytime."

"Rocky can change that." Rocky says, but doesn't make a move to get up. He doesn't want to, really. Grace doesn't exactly want to let go either. "Rocky promise to get Adrian to get time back to normal tomorrow."

"What?"

"Mary, override Sol-Earth time synchronisation system. Thirty-six thousand second advancement." Rocky called out, looking up at the ceiling.

"Of course, Rocky." Mary chimed back, and Grace was more than happy to finally hear her voice working again. Still, how far was Thirty-something thousand seconds in the-

Almost immediately, the sky outside shifted to a rapid sunset, light dipping down beyond the false horizon and turning the night sky into a deeper blue. Grace watches as the sky progresses further, starlight blinking on throughout the screens far above, familiar constellations projected onto his own personal, instant night sky. No light stinging his eyes with the soft distance of the glow.

Grace had no idea he could override the time like this. It makes sense. It makes loads of sense. It's exactly the same as Grace overriding Armando's medical system to dispense painkillers more often when needed.

"Rocky…" he mumbled, the nerves of rest were still there.

"Grace sleep." Rocky turned back to his friend, shifting until he was back to being settled in the bundled trench Grace had accidentally shifted into being scuffling over the covers, "Rocky watch."

"You don't have to tonight, Rock." Grace tilted his head. Wouldn't he rather check on Adrian, make sure they were okay? Rest themselves, if Rocky was tired then Grace would absolutely sit up and watch-

The thought occurred to him, as his eyes were drooping just a little, that Adrian would probably be in their laboratory, keeping an eye on the both of them.

Kasi wasn't anywhere near. Grace was safe, Rocky would be okay.

"Will watch anyway, don't have to, but want to." Rocky hummed, folding his legs beneath himself at Grace's side, into a comfortable loaf of slotting stone, "I will stay here, will always be here."

How could Grace argue against that? And observation whilst sleeping was probably a good idea anyway.

They could figure things out, talk about it all tomorrow. Tonight though, he could rest his brain and avoid the stress. Let the day fade all the way into a past that wouldn't come back.

Rocky would be here when he woke up. Likely bundled in covers too.

His headache could wait till tomorrow too, Grace sighed, allowing his body to settle curled a little over Rocky's suit, "Okay. Fine, goodnight, Rocky."

A hum came from Grace's side, and this time he was more than happy to hear the words chimed back at him from a comfortable Rocky, "Yes, yes, yes. Good sleep, Grace."