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Grace was eating breakfast when it happened.
Or rather, when Rocky burst through his door and almost broke it, skittering around and sliding on the floor and chirping so fast and excitedly Grace almost couldn't understand him. Admittedly it did take him a moment for his brain to catch up to what the Eridian was saying.
“Grace! Grace! Human! Found Human! Exploration crew found human! Grace come see!”
As soon as Grace's brain caught up his stomach swooped down to his feet and his heart picked it back up again, pounding so fast he couldn't breathe.
“Take me to them.”
The human the Eridians found was....rough around the edges, to put it lightly.
Grace wasn't sure what he'd been through, but it looked pretty hard. He had wounds all over, his arm looked like it had been ripped off and torn away, and he was covered in dried blood.
That last part made him gag, despite the fact that he was happy and bewildered to even see another human for the first time in almost a decade. There's only so much that willpower can do for you when you're faced with a smell and sight that drastic.
The Eridians carried him to Armando, with Grace running ahead to open the door for them, and they set up a temporary cot in the front room of his home. They sealed the section off, because he was giving off lethal amounts of radiation, and then the waiting began.
At one point, Grace stopped waiting by the room for him to wake up, and went back to the usual routine. If he left the house, there was always either Adrian or Rocky waiting there to run and tell him if the man woke. Armando did a decent job of cleaning the blood off, but Grace could tell, even through the xeno-glass, that his hair was still soaked in it.
It took four weeks for the man to wake up, and when he did, Grace almost missed it.
Awareness came in bits and pieces.
Bright lights, clicking and whistling, then soft whirring and mechanical humming. He thought he heard a human humming a tune, just under their breath, but it wasn't one he recognized.
He shouldn't be trying to recognize anything, wasn't he dead?
Didn't he die??
The details were fuzzy, but the last thing he remembered was breaking the teeth off of that bastard eel and drowning in blood, choking on it while it consumed him. He absolutely should not be alive right now.
He tried cracking his eyes open, it was difficult, and as soon as he did he closed them again. He had a killer headache, the lights were too bright, and now that he was aware, his whole body ached. He took a deep breath to power through the pain—if he was still alive, if Ava somehow actually went through with her promise and pulled him out, he needed to be awake. He needed to make sure he was free, and not just in another prison cell waiting to be thrown into a different project.
They promised him. She promised him. He deserved that, especially after all the bullshit he went through.
He took a deeper breath and braced for the pain as he opened his eyes, groaning slightly nonetheless. He tried to sit up, all of his muscles protested, his stomach clenched like he was going to throw up, and bright pain shot up his left arm.
He let out a grunt of pain and went limp on the bed, then he heard something get dropped to his left and somebody gasping. He wasn't alone, then. Maybe they would take pity on him since he was injured, he felt injured, at least.
He wanted to go back to sleep now, actually. Just those few moments of wakefulness were exhausting. If anybody even noticed he woke up in the first place, they weren't trying to get him up at least, so he would have peace for a little longer. He let sleep take him, he could deal with whatever was happening the next time he woke.
Grace was reading a book next to the glass when he heard the man grunt.
He dropped it in surprise, scrambling up to get a look at the man, and he only just barely caught a grimace on the man's face before he was going limp again. The heart rate monitor said his bpm spiked slightly for a few minutes, meaning he had been awake and Grace hadn't even noticed. Consequences of leaving the speakers behind in the Hail Mary when he brought Arm-ando over, there was no verbal cue when the robot detected changes.
Even if it had only been a minute, though, him waking up was good. It meant he was actually recovering, and not continuing to decay as radiation exposure would dictate. Either there was some cosmic being looking out for the guy or he was born with some kind of built in radiation resistant DNA. Which, both options were equally preposterous.
It took three more days before he woke up again, and this time, Grace didn't miss it.
The radiation was close to being safe for humans, maybe four or five more days, then they could take down the barrier. Until then, they just hoped if the man woke up he didn't take too unkindly to being locked into a tiny room for a bit.
He woke again, but this time wakefulness stuck around. He was in a little bit less pain now, he didn't have a headache at least, and he wasn't blinded when he opened his eyes. It was actually dark out, like there was a day/night cycle. That shouldn't be possible, there weren't any stars left for that.
He took a deep breath and sat up, successfully this time, with minimal pain, and when he saw where he was his stomach dropped.
He was in another cage, this one appeared to be glass, was he being kept as some kind of experiment? Or a pet for some rich asshole?? Did the COI just hand him off to the highest bidder, a radiated criminal to bring entertainment to someone selfish enough to keep resources like glass to themselves?
He could feel rage bubbling in his gut. After everything he did, everything he went through, he was imprisoned again? He earned his freedom, he served his penance for a crime he didn't even commit, and yet—
“You're awake!” there was a voice, whoever the COI sold him to, Simon guessed. “Holy crap, I can't believe—you're—hang on lemme just—“ Whoever was speaking was stumbling over their words, and then actually stumbling by the sound of it, before a light flicked on and illuminated them.
Simon was slightly taken aback, because it looked like he was just...in someone's living room. He really had been sold off to a rich dick, hadn't he? He'd heard of it happening, he just never thought he was one to be desirable enough to buy, or that he'd find himself under circumstances to be bought.
“Soo, Hi!” He finally looked at the man behind the voice, and he looked nothing like anyone he'd seen before. The man looked...cheery. Like the stars weren't gone and people weren't starving to death. Must be really rich then. His clothes were in one piece and made of one solid material, too.
“Sorry, I know this is probably a shock.” He tapped the glass, Simon scowled at him. “But it's only 'cause you're putting off, just....so much radiation.” He started pacing back and forth. “Like, enough that I'm not really sure how you're alive right now. By all means, you should be dead. Not that I'm upset you're alive!” The man took a stance like he was ready for Simon to be upset with him, then he resumed talking and pacing. There was something disarming about him. If he was telling the truth, then Simon wasn't a prisoner, just in medical containment.
But that didn't explain why he was in a living room. He must have actually been sold, then.
“--Found you just, kind of on the surface? Not really sure how you survived that, there wasn't much of an atmosphere and you were just laying there, covered in blood.” The man shivered in disgust, Simon was right there with him. “So they brought you here! Um, this is my house, by the way, I'm sure you're wondering why you're just in a living room and not in like, a medical bay, but Arm-ando is the only thing in the way of medical care here and he can't get irradiated like we can, and I already integrated him into my living room so...” The man finally stopped pacing, facing Simon on his left side. Maybe the COI told this guy they just found Simon and passed him off? He didn't seem too concerned about Simon.
“Oh!” The man suddenly exclaimed, “Sorry, right! Introductions, I'm Dr. Ryland Grace, everyone here just calls me Grace, but well, oh wait you won't be able to understand—I'll need to get the translation device up and running again, Rocky's gonna have a million questions, oh—but what's your name?” The man raised his palms up, one hand closer to Simon in an odd pose as he awaited an answer.
This had to be the most bizarre person Simon had ever come across. He spoke with so much enthusiasm, and friendliness, like he genuinely wanted to know who Simon was. Like he was excited to know about him.
What the hell did the COI tell this poor rich bastard when they sold Simon to him?
He tried to open his mouth to ask something, his throat and mouth were so dry the only thing that left him was a pathetic rasp. He tried to clear his throat, bringing his arm up to touch it.
“Oh shoot! Right, you haven't had anything to drink in a few weeks, lemme just—“
A few weeks? Exactly how long had he been out??
Then the man was back with a cup, and he was putting it in to something jutting out of the wall, then sliding it into Simon's side. It worked the same as the prison meal deliveries.
The medical equipment to Simon's left moved, causing the man to jump, because he fully thought it was stationary equipment. But no, it was an arm, and it was getting the cup and bringing it to—
An arm...Arm-ando...Did...
Did this man name a robotic arm with a pun?
He took the water and drank it down quickly, remembering how upset he was the last time he did this, but this time he wasn't in a life or death situation. He hoped.
He gasped as he finished drinking, handing the cup back to the arm and looking around the room again. He could escape, if there was a door. But for all intents and purposes, the dome he was in appeared to be fully sealed off. They really intended to just keep him here, then.
“Where am I?” He asked, his voice was rough, barely loud enough to be heard.
“On Erid, its uh, pretty far away from earth.” The man—Grace, laughed apologetically.
“Earth?” The planet? The one that disappeared?
“Yeah! You know, the planet we're from?” Grace looked a little confused and maybe concerned.
“It's still there?” Simon had never seen it, and he was born next to Mars.
“I mean, last I checked.” Grace shrugged, “My whole reason for being out here would be pretty redundant if it wasn't there anymore.” He laughed awkwardly.
“The whole reason?” Simon was so confused, and tired, and his arm ached and he didn't want to look because if his memories were correct it wasn't there anymore. He didn't want to check right now. “What are you—Why am I here?”
“Well, the exploration team found you.” Grace said it a little slowly, he must've said it already when Simon wasn't listening. “Like I said, you were on the surface of a moon nearby, barely alive. You're pretty lucky they were even out there as soon as they were, they only just finished repairing their ship.”
“Who's they?” Simon was getting frustrated with a lack of straight answers, or answers that made sense. None of this made sense.
“Oh! Right,” Grace smiled widely, Simon had never seen someone smile with genuine happiness like that. He was starting to think maybe this man was crazy, and not just disgustingly rich. “The Eridians did! They live here, on Erid, they're uh, pretty incredible.” Grace picked something up and started tossing it between his hands, beginning to pace again. “Just a fair warning though, they look kind of creepy, kind of like a spider but made out of rocks? Except they have five limbs and not eight, but they're really great people! Super kind hearted, really smart too. They made this whole bio-dome just for me so I could live here.”
Bio-dome? Rock spiders? What the hell was happening?
“W-what happened to the submarine?” Simon needed actual answers. The man stopped pacing and looked at him, a confused look on his face. “The submarine, the black box, Ava, what happened?” He pleaded, he needed to know. “Did they tell you anything? Did—do you know—“
“I don't...I don't know what you're talking about, I'm sorry.” And he actually did look sorry. A novelty, someone apologizing to Simon and meaning it.
“Nothing?” Simon was despairing, he was sold off and the guy who bought him couldn't even tell him if he was successful?
There was the information too, that the stranger in front of him had given Simon. Erid, Eridians, rock spiders, he didn't know what any of it was. And earth, apparently still around? Did Simon just go crazy?
Maybe he was dead, and this was the afterlife?
“Is—Is this even real?” He whispered, starting to panic a little bit, “Are you real? Am I dead?”
“Hey, hey, hey, yes I'm real. You are not dead, I promise.” Grace made a cross over his chest, Simon thought of the Xray button he taped down. “Cross my heart, you are alive, and this is real. Listen, in like, four or five days we can take down the barrier, then you can walk around and see for yourself. I promise.” Grace tapped the glass again, “This'll be gone and you can leave for earth, if you want. But I would recommend you stick around for a little bit, just to make sure you're peachy keen.”
Free. He would be—leave for earth? For a planet that didn't exist? Was this guy fucking with him?
It didn't matter. He just had to wait. Five days, five days and the glass would be gone. Then he could get some actual answers for himself. This guy didn't seem malicious, at least. Just mostly clueless, maybe a little entitled with how cheery he was. It didn't matter. Simon would be free, he would be.
“Ok.” He nodded, he would just play along for now. As much as it pained him to, he could do it, just five more days. If this was nothing more than a hallucination, he would find out in less time. Nothing he could do but wait, so he would do just that.
He laid back down and stared at the ceiling, letting exhaustion take him again. He would either wake up drowned in blood or in the same place again, he wasn't sure which he preferred.
Rocky came to visit the next morning, chirping quietly to avoid waking the man up. He almost knocked on the door with a heavy hand like he normally did, but Grace thankfully was already awake and anticipating him, so he wrenched the door open while the Eridian had a claw raised, hissing at him to be quiet.
Once Rocky established that the man was healthy, or as healthy as he could be in his current state, he moved on to more social questions. They were in Grace's bedroom to talk, far enough away not to disturb the man, close enough to hear if he woke.
“What human name? Question?” Rocky tapped his foot quieter than normally, and Grace suddenly realized he didn't have it.
“I....didn't get it”
“Grace is rude, rude! You did not ask name?” Rocky scolded him.
“I asked! He didn't say...and I forgot to ask again.” Grace sighed.
“Grace bad at talking.”
“We've already established that, thank you.” Grace ran a hand down his face and readjusted his glasses. “He seems to have gone through a lot, the questions he was asking were strange. I'm just hoping we can get along okay once he's out.” Grace huffed a laugh, “I've been told I'm a messy roommate, (Rocky agree) a lot of people didn't like sharing a space with me.” Grace glared at Rocky for the interruption.
“Rocky Adrian can build separate home?” Rocky offered, although he sounded reluctant.
“Why don't we wait and see what he wants, Rock?” Grace knew Rocky wanted the man to stay with him to offer company, the Eridians were extremely social, but it was different with someone of your own race.
Maybe he wouldn't dislike Grace enough to leave for earth as soon as he got the chance?
The man spent most of his time just laying in bed or sleeping for the next few days, Grace tried to keep him entertained with movies and fun facts, but no matter what he did, the guy seemed perpetually suspicious of him. He at least didn't seem like he hated Grace, but he definitely didn't trust him. It stung a little, but Grace reminded himself that they found this guy covered in human blood, wherever he came from can't have been good for him to have been in that condition.
Grace just really hoped the man wasn't covered in blood because he killed a ton of people, though he couldn't think of many other circumstances under which someone could be so saturated with it. Unless he bathed in it, somehow.
Grace also forgot to ask for his name for the first two days after he woke up, because he was teaching and scatter brained with everything that was happening. They were lucky that the guy didn't have much of a reaction to Rocky and Adrian beyond curiosity, he seemed to accept they were friendly from the get-go at least.
He was putting breakfast in the transfer drawer when it hit him that he didn't know his name.
“Oh shoot!” He exclaimed, the man tensed on the other side. “I forgot, I didn't get your name, what is it?” He offered what he hoped to be a friendly smile. It was similar to the one he used for his students, though he had been told it could come off condescending when directed at adults.
“...It's Simon.” The man murmured, pausing like he wasn't sure if he should tell Grace.
“Simon! That's a great name, I had a student name Simon once, he was a real firecracker—“ And then Grace was off, rambling about his kids again, eating breakfast on the other side of the glass while Simon ate his. He hadn't told Grace he talked too much, not yet, but Grace thought maybe he was just being polite.
Grace gave him water and a bowl to get the blood out of his hair, as much as he could get out without running water, that is. Grace sympathized with the man, he wouldn't want to have blood stuck in his hair for a month. He was going to see if he could get better soaps for the guy by the time he was out.
Grace was really hoping they could be friends, but on day five, his hopes were dashed against the Eridian rocks as soon as the barrier was down.
A few Eridians came by and carted off the Xeno-glass, and Simon just stood in the center of his little room the entire time, oddly still. Once they were all gone, he continued to stand still, like he was waiting for something else to happen. It was...very awkward. Grace wasn't quite sure what to do with him.
“So!” Grace clapped, Simon jumped, and Grace winced. “Sorry, sorry. Force of habit. Anyways, the Eridians are ready to build you a room if you want, or you can take the Hail Mary—“
Simon took off, he jumped over the furniture and ran out the door faster than Grace could process, leaving the teacher standing there in the front room for a moment before his brain caught up and he was chasing after Simon.
“Wait!” Simon was already at the beach, how the heck was he that fast?? And barefoot, too! He was only wearing a borrowed set of sweats and a shirt from Grace, the rocks had to hurt his feet. “Simon!” Grace gave chase, he knew it was a bad idea, it was generally known that you should never chase after anyone or anything that was bolting, as it would only exacerbate the issue. But he needed to talk to the man, and make sure he didn't find a way to get himself squished and cooked at the same time by getting through the airlock the Eridians used.
“Simon!” He was out of breath already, god he needed to work out more. Or maybe not, because Simon reached the edge of the dome, and he began running along it. There was only so far he could go, at least. “Wait! Please!” Grace paused to catch his breath, watching as the man continued to put as much distance between him and Grace as he could. Maybe Grace could just wait, he couldn't go anywhere else at this point anyways.
He paused to catch his breath for a few moments, just watching Simon as he clambered up a cliff side one handed, which was impressive in its' own right, and he considered what to do. It wasn't like he could chase Simon—well he could, but it wasn't a good idea. Maybe he should just leave it to the Eridians to watch him, they would be able to track him down a heck of a lot easier, anyhow.
Grace approached the airlock and hit the intercom to tell the Eridians what was up, requesting that they keep an eye—ear out for anything that might indicate Simon was trying to break the glass or dig under the dome or something. They put someone by the airlock to guard it, just in case Simon figured out the controls for that, too.
Then Grace went home. If he wanted to, he could easily find Simon within the confines of the dome, but at this point he was winded and his legs hurt from running, and it wasn't like Simon could hurt himself exploring the edges anyhow. Well, unless he decided to go for a swim, and drowned, but that was another issue that Grace wouldn't think of until after Simon returned.
He figured that Simon was a grown man, and he was probably scared, and that he would eventually return to the house because it was the only place for him to go. He had to return at some point, right?
It wasn't until the sun had long set that Simon returned, padding through the doorway quietly and jumping in surprise when Grace looked up from where he was sitting on the couch.
“Oh good you're back.” Grace sighed in relief, “You didn't hurt yourself too bad running around barefoot, did you?” Simon just gave him an odd look that Grace couldn't parse. This did not bode well for Grace, because generally he wasn't great at reading facial expressions, and currently it seemed to be the only way Simon was willing to communicate.
Simon didn't move from the doorway, he watched Grace with low grade caution.
“I assumed you'd be asleep by now.” He murmured, his voice low.
“How could I?” Grace laughed mirthlessly, “I was worried about you, not a chance I could sleep not knowing if you were alright.” Was it strange to be this attached to a stranger so soon after meeting them? Yes, it absolutely was. But Grace was lonely, and he hadn't seen anyone else for nearly a decade, so he might have developed a bigger interest in Simon a lot sooner than would be considered normal. Not that he was obsessed, he just...worried. A lot.
“You were worried about me?” Simon looked at him, surprised, as though he was unfamiliar with the concept.
“Yes..?” Grace let out an awkward laugh, great he creeped out the only human around for 16 light years. “Why wouldn't I be worried? I mean, I know we just met, but, like...I think it's pretty normal to be worried about people? Right?” He offered another laugh, and his brain was running around in circles going 'you messed it up! You messed it up! This conversation is weird, you're weird, he's gonna dislike you! Way to go, weirdo!'.
“Hm.” Simon did look to relax a little bit, his expression the tiniest bit less guarded. He seemed to think for a moment. “You said we were on a planet?”
“Yes! Erid.” Grace perked up. Yes, please change the subject to something that wasn't Grace's poor social abilities. “You have any questions?”
“Yeah, actually. A few.” Simon let out a humorless laugh, “You gonna answer them if I ask?”
“To the best of my ability!” Grace smiled, maybe he didn't weird Simon out? He patted the couch next to him, Simon raised an eyebrow and instead walked inside to lean against the counter. Ok, way to go, Grace. You reached neutral territory and took it right back to strange town. Why couldn't he be normal?!
“You said you saved the stars?” It was less of a question, more of asking for confirmation.
“We did, yeah.” Grace nodded, “We found some amoebas that were eating the astrophage for dinner—the astrophage being what was eating the stars—so we got some and bred it and sent it off!” He made a throwing motion with his hands. “I'm sure they've reached earth by now, hopefully, and we're currently working on making some probes to send to other planetary systems in hopes we can kill the astrophage there too.”
“But, the stars are there?” Simon continued, he sounded cautiously hopeful.
“Last I checked! Oh!” Grace was hit with an idea. “I could take you up in the Hail Mary to look! If you want to see?” Simon immediately shook his head.
“I'm not getting into any enclosed spaces again anytime soon, thanks, though.” He sighed heavily, “I'm just not sure how much I believe it.”
“Why not?” Grace prodded, he wanted to ask more, but he actually managed to keep his tongue in check for once.
“Well, where I'm from, the stars are all gone.” He said it slowly, but it was a fact, stated with no amount of humor. He wasn't being sarcastic or trying to pull Grace's leg.
“Gone? Like, gone-gone?” Grace's heart dropped. Did he fail? Was he too late?
“Planets too.” Simon nodded, and Grace's heart popped back into his chest while his brain jumped into action. They were on a planet now, so that couldn't be possible.
“How—“ Grace frowned, “That doesn't make sense, we're on a planet now.”
“You're telling me,” Simon huffed another humorless laugh, “I'm pretty damn confused myself. Everything you told me is so far from everything I've ever known. It doesn't line up at all, I'm not really sure what to do with it.” Simon assumed a more casual pose, leaning back on his one arm. “I still don't know if I didn't die, or that you're not some rich idiot that has access to a space station with endless glass and dirt and water. But I don't think even the richest man could gather this many resources, so something else has to be going on.”
“Rich idiot??” Grace was taken aback, he wasn't exactly poor but he certainly wasn't rich, and absolutely not an idiot. “I have a doctorate in molecular biology!!” Address the idiot comment first, why not. Ego bruised.
Simon barked a laugh at that, at least he found Grace's bruised ego amusing.
“Yeah, kind of thought you were bullshitting me at first.” Simon tapped his fingers on the counter behind him. “But you don't seem like a liar, not anyone I've met, at least. Actually, you don't act like a single person I've ever met in my life. It adds to the strangeness of this whole situation.” Simon frowned, “I just don't know how I got here.”
Grace nodded, equally confused, they would need to talk more about this.
“We can talk more about it tomorrow?” He offered, he wasn't one for sleeping but with Simon's increased activity and recent healed injuries, he was probably exhausted. Simon clenched his jaw and nodded slowly, casting his eyes around the room. “You can take the bed, I'll sleep here.”
That seemed to surprise Simon greatly, he looked disbelievingly at Grace.
“The...bed?”
“Yeah. Its through that door.” Grace pointed, “Bathroom's across the hall. All yours.” Simon didn't move for a moment, Grace thought maybe he saw a glint in his eyes. It took him a minute to respond.
“I—Thank you.” He said quietly, pausing like he would say something else, but then he was walking to Grace's bedroom, stopping once to look back, then going inside and closing the door. There was a pause, and Grace heard something in his room scrape against the floor, and a thump against the door. Right, he didn't have locks, 'cause he didn't need them. Simon must have moved his dresser in front of the door.
Grace sighed deeply and took off his glasses to scrub his face. He should probably get sleep, but with the information Simon just gave him, his mind was going to be running all night.
He went to fetch his whiteboard.
Simon laid awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling and trying to think of reasons.
Why was he here? How was it possible? It shouldn't be, right? He should absolutely be dead. He remembered the pain, the whole body radiation poisoning, the teeth and the drowning. He should not be alive.
He thought back to the quiet rapture, how it was more likely the space stations were transported and not the planets and stars, could that have happened to him? To the moon he was on?
He went around the entire dome that the two of them were in, there definitely seemed to be more planet on the other side, although it was so dark he could barely see. But there was ground on the other side of the glass, if there hadn't been, he might have been half convinced they were on a space station, that Grace was a rich asshole keeping all of these resources to himself.
Then there were the Eridians, an entire race of alien that no human had ever come across in Simon's universe, not even before the quiet rapture. They didn't exactly strike him as something that the eel could dream up, either. Sentient rocks? It was like a child's idea, not to mention the rocks definitely had more knowledge than the blood eel could have access too. Simon didn't know half the shit they talked about, it was all chemicals and microbiology and a bunch of science shit he'd never been privy to before. Rocky chatted to him on more than one occasion, talking about concepts Simon had heard of, but as though Rocky had actually executed them.
Grace was too nice, too. Way too welcoming to come from a place that had as limited resources as the people Simon grew up with. Simon found himself actually trusting the man, not totally, but enough to be sure he wouldn't try to hurt Simon.
He couldn't be still in the submarine, either, even with the hallucinations there he wasn't in a space this vast and varied, and he wasn't hurting. So how did he get here?
If it happened once, it can happen again, so what are the chances he was instead relocated to an entirely different timeline rather than the one he was born in? The one his mother was from? It made more sense than anything else he could think of, because Grace was talking about earth like it still had resources and people living on it. He even offered Simon the chance to go himself.
If it happened once, it can happen again. It must have.
He was just happy he got deposited somewhere near another human being. If Grace hadn't been on a mission to save the stars that Simon knew to be dead, hadn't gone back to help Rocky, Simon would have been straight out of luck and dead again.
But he wasn't. It had to be some kind of miracle. He didn't know if he believed in a god, but something must have been looking out for him—or he just got extremely lucky with whatever science bullshit plucked the stations out of space and plopped them elsewhere, and it happened to him specifically. Maybe everyone else went back to the original timeline?
He hoped. He really hoped they did.
He sighed into the darkness and resigned himself to lying awake for the rest of the night. He couldn't sleep like this, even with the exhaustion in his bones. Running like he had was a bad choice, his feet were definitely worse for wear.
When Simon woke up the next morning, because he did fall asleep at some point, despite swirling thoughts, he found Grace slumped on the couch at an uncomfortable angle and a whiteboard in front of him with the details Simon had given him on it. There were a few ideas and question marks, like 'separate timeline??' and 'time travel?', a few others that were illegible, those were closer to the bottom of the board, and there was a squiggle that corresponded with where the man's hand was. He was still holding the marker, like he fell asleep writing.
Simon quirked a confused smile. This guy was just...strange and funny. To fall asleep so unguarded, to stay awake until you couldn't stop yourself from falling asleep, it was foreign to Simon. But this man was so at ease with everything, like he'd never known true danger. Simon wondered if he would have ended up like that, had he grown up on the earth Grace was apparently from.
There was banging on the door, and Simon jumped, his heart shooting into his throat. It sounded too much like the type of knocking the guards would bang on the doors in prison. He approached the door cautiously, looking through the glass at the top and not seeing anyone. The knocking came again, and Simon realized it was coming from the bottom of the door.
He opened it and found Rocky on the other side, the Eridian waving at him and whistling something Simon had no hope of understanding. The laptop they used for translating was shut down, on the other side of the front room.
“Hang on a sec.” Simon turned to fetch it. He liked the Eridians, they didn't have teeth or eyes or any psychic abilities that would convince him to betray human kind, so they were ok in his book. He powered up the laptop and padded quietly up to Rocky, crouching down to him where he'd entered the doorway. “Say again?”
“Rocky said: Grace forget to sleep again, fall asleep on couch, bad bad, Grace wake in pain.” Rocky was stamping his little feet, Simon hummed in response.
“He fell asleep writing something, I think he was trying to figure out where I came from.” Simon said lowly, trying not to disturb the man on the couch where he snored.
“Grace bad at sleep. Skip sleep many times to think, but no sleep make stupid. Grace stupid think.” Simon couldn't help but laugh softly at that, despite himself. He didn't think this was a hallucination, no one demanded anything of him, they weren't telling him to sacrifice himself.
His heart felt like it was a little bit more whole, he found himself actually hoping for once. He hadn't yet had any reactions in relation to what happened to him before, he wasn't sure if it was just because he wasn't effected, or if the reactions would come later.
He hoped the latter would never come.
Grace startled awake from the couch to a loud noise, he couldn't figure out what it was that woke him up at first, but then he heard it again. Simon was making noises of distress from his bedroom, increasingly loudly.
It was about two months into Simon being here, the Eridians had finally made Simon his own bedroom, and Grace had fallen asleep on the couch while grading homework again.
He got up from the couch and approached Simon's door, it was right next to his own bedroom, added to the hallway just outside the door. He knocked on the faux wood, softly at first, but when the noises inside continued, he knocked harder.
“Simon?” Grace didn't like the sounds inside his room. He was starting to yell like he was fighting. “Simon!” One more anguished shout, and Grace was trying the doorknob.
To his surprise, it opened. Simon normally locked his door, a lock specially added at his request. Grace didn't know if it was an accident that he left it unlocked, but he sure as hell was glad it was.
Simon thrashed in his bed, he was sweating and panting, it was not good.
“Simon!” Grace approached the bed and dodged a flailing limb, grabbing the man's shoulders to shake him awake. “Simon, wake up!” nothing, he shook harder, “Simon!!” He was starting to become distressed, he kept yelling and shaking.
Simon's eyes flew open with a gasp and a strangled noise, and his right hand immediately connected to Grace's face with a dull thud. Grace exclaimed and backed up, holding his left cheek as Simon looked around the dark room wildly. Simon blinked a few times, then registered Grace standing by his bed, his eyes snapping to where Grace was holding his cheek.
“I—I—“ He stuttered, and suddenly burst into tears. “I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean—“ He curled into his knees, sobbing and shaking, his breathing drifting into hyperventilation territory. Oh no, not on Grace's watch, no panic attacks tonight.
“Simon, hey, I'm alright,” Grace approached and sat in front of him, letting go of his aching cheek to place a hand on Simon's knee, the man only flinched a little bit at the contact. “Hey, look at me.” He needed his attention. Simon lifted his head, tears in his eyes and the gaze distant. Grace took his hand in his own gently and laid it on his chest, breathing in deeply. “Copy me, in and out, slow.”
It took a few breaths for Simon to copy him, the tears falling endlessly. Eventually Simon began to breathe on his own, eyes closed and his exhales shaky. Grace lifted his hand off of Simon's knee and wiped his tears, too half asleep to stop himself, cupping Simon's jaw afterwards as the man's tears slowed. The gesture caused Simon to open his eyes and look at Grace with something so heartbroken he almost cried himself.
He didn't get the chance, the next moment Simon was pulling him into a hug, on his knees and clutching at Grace like he was scared he would float away. Grace got up onto the bed a little more, intending to face Simon, but instead the both of them ended up falling onto the sheets, laying on them sideways. Grace held onto Simon as he started crying again, deciding it would just be better to hold him now and not worry about if they were sitting up or not.
Grace rubbed Simon's back as he sobbed, murmuring reassurances in his hair, saying the things he wished he had someone to say to him when he was on Hail Mary and sobbing from memories. Simon eventually shifted to lay on top of Grace, his arm tucked underneath him and holding on tightly. He had to have lost feeling in it by now, right? Grace was a grown man, and all his weight was pressing on Simon's forearm.
Grace thought maybe he should have felt something after not having any contact with another human after so long, but adrenaline was pushing everything else to the side. Fight or flight, he wanted to flee but also fight whatever demons Simon had visiting him in his dreams, the conflicting emotions leading to a confusing anxious tension as Simon laid on top of him.
In the end he just laid there, holding Simon until he was breathing deeply and clearly asleep, at which point Grace carefully eased himself up and pulled Simon's arm out from under him. As soon as the arm was free, though, Simon's hand was gripping the side of Grace's shirt and hanging on for dear life.
Grace sighed and continued to rub his back, his eyes drooping until they finally closed, and he fell asleep.
When Simon woke up again, he was strangely warm, and his bed was moving underneath him.
At first, with a bright flash of panic, he thought he was inside the eel's throat and being digested, but when his eyes flew open, all he saw was his bedroom on Erid. He heard a snore right above his head, and he looked around.
He was sleeping on top of Grace, horizontally across the bed, his hand clutching Grace's shirt so hard that it hurt to finally release it. Grace's arms were over Simon's back, which did send a little bit of panic through him, because he didn't want to be held down. He pushed himself up on one arm, and Grace's fell limply off of him, the teacher not waking up at all as Simon got off the bed.
Simon remembered the nightmare, the blood and the starless skies, the repeated cries from the eel, 'It was never real, join us! Join us! We are your salvation!' until he was swinging and waking up and—
Oh god, he punched Grace in the face. Oh god there was a bruise on Grace's face, big and purple, the size of Simon's fist. He swallowed hard around a lump in his throat, how was it that he always managed to hurt people by accident in the worst ways? Was he cursed to do it?
Simon sighed shakily and removed himself from the bedroom, going out to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. He didn't used to drink the stuff, but once Grace had introduced him, he found that he enjoyed the ritual and taste. How odd, to have a life so consistent that he could make something like this first thing in the morning.
The comfort of familiarity and routine helped ease his nerves.
He couldn't remember ever being in a kitchen, everything was rationed and delivered to them, in prison they were served dry bricks of nutrients, barely enough to get through the day, made only slightly more bearable by water.
Now he had access to actual ingredients, like sugar and oat-milk, both of which he added in large amounts. The first sip helped melt away the nightmares and anxiety, and the strange hallow feeling he had from getting out of Grace's grasp.
The next three nights were exactly the same, Simon was waking up shouting or screaming and thrashing, having the same nightmare with slight variations despite his best efforts. Evidently, whatever trauma he picked up was choosing now to manifest, and it chose to do so in the form of dreams.
Grace came in every time he had the nightmares, and every time he would hold Simon until he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. He said as much after the third night, that Grace being there seemed to chase the dreams away.
“We could try sleeping together from the get go?” Grace offered, there was a beat, and then he turned red, “I—I mean, not like that! Just, you know, next to each other. I'm not trying to suggest anything or—“ Simon held up his hand, amused by the man's rambling. It might be one of his favorite things about the teacher, actually. That and his kind eyes.
“I know what you meant.” Simon assured him, a smile at the corners of his mouth for at least the next hour.
That night, they slept next to each other.
Grace was holding himself so awkwardly next to Simon that the convict had to wonder if he'd ever been near another human being before, which was ridiculous, because they'd shared a bed the last three nights in a row.
“Are you good?” He had to ask, Grace somehow tensed up more.
“Uh, yeah! Yep, yep. Just...been a while since I shared a bed with someone.” Grace was facing away from Simon, but the man knew he was blushing based off of the tone alone.
“We literally slept cuddled up last night, what the hell are you talking about.” Simon fixed his back with a stare.
“That's different!” Grace turned a little, his face was absolutely cherry red.
“How, exactly?” Simon raised an eyebrow, and when Grace started spluttering, he decided to fuck with him a little bit. No harm in a little bit of fun, right?
He reached over and yanked Grace back with his arm, pulling the man into a spooning position, and he had to bite his tongue to stop from laughing at the squeak that Grace let out. Simon had never heard such a noise from anyone, ever. It was adorable.
Grace went completely silent in front of Simon, utterly still, like he was frozen. Simon wanted to mess with him a little bit more, he was in a mischievous mood. He leaned forwards.
“You alright, Grace?” He murmured it directly into the man's ear, barely holding back a smile, and then Grace was shooting up from the bed and Simon's heart dropped. Did he cross a line?
“I'm just gonna use the bathroom real quick.” Grace strained out, his entire face and neck were red, and Simon watched him closely for any expressions of anger. He didn't seem upset, maybe embarrassed? Maybe Simon did take it too far?
He sighed and beat himself up mentally, what was he thinking??
Grace was currently having a life crisis.
He was in the bathroom, and reliving the moment that just happened, and he was somehow, inexplicably, hard.
He had no idea what it was that triggered it, he thought maybe the proximity, or the touch, or the way that Simon murmured into his ear oh so lowly and—
Ok yep, no more thinking about that. Time to stop. He was definitely hard because of Simon and not because he was just that touch starved. He took a deep breath and held it, pacing in the small bathroom as he waited for his dick to calm down.
He wasn't quite sure what to do with the information, because he never expected something like this to happen. He had never been attracted to men before, not once, ever, not even when he was in college. Although, he was busy with his doctorate, he wasn't really focused on much else. Case in point, his ex-girlfriend.
He shook his hands out, ok this was working, think about your ex! How much it stung that she left you, even though you got over it really quickly, like, maybe a little too quickly. Don't think about the fact that the first time you realized you could even be attracted to men was the at the same time you had to share a bed with the subject of your attraction.
How did he not notice he was attracted before, was he that dense?
He thought about Simon, his face, his hair, the kind look in his eyes whenever he interacted with the Eridians, how well built he was, how his breath felt against the back of Ryland's ear when he—
Stopit! Dagnabbit, this is counter productive, trying to make erection go away, not make it worse.
There was a knock at the door.
Oh cheese and rice.
“Grace?” Simon sounded upset, was he mad that Grace left? Oh god, was he trying to make a move on Grace and he just left him in behind bed like that?
“Yeah?” He tried to sound as casual as he could, he was walking around the bathroom like he had to pee now, but he didn't. He really wanted to just—stop!!!
“Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't meant to...upset you, at all.” Oh god Simon thought Grace was upset with him.
“I'm not!” Grace approached the door, “I am not upset, I promise.”
“Ok...” Simon didn't sound like he believed him. “Are you coming to bed soon?” That sentence sent shivers down Grace's spine, good lord.
“Yeah, yes. Sorry, I'll be right there.” Grace let out a controlled breath. He needed to get it together real fast.
“Ok. You're sure I didn't upset you?” Simon sounded like he was right outside the door, Grace wondered what would happen if he opened it and let the man see him in the state he was in. “I was just trying to get you to relax a little bit, just...I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry.”
“Hey, you're fine.” Grace took another deep breath, it worked a little bit, he tried focusing on how sad Simon sounded instead. “I'm not upset at all, really. Just...took me by surprise, I guess.” There, a little bit of the truth should help.
“Alright.” Simon sighed heavily enough that Grace could hear through the door, then he heard him walk away and back into his room.
Grace let out a large breath and leaned his forehead onto the door, taking a few more steadying breaths. Maybe if he just jerked off it would go away faster? No, no, bad idea. Bad. He had no idea what might pop into his head now that that door had been opened.
He splashed his face with cold water, considered throwing some downstairs to get control before he realized that would get his pants wet, so instead he tried meditating in the way those self help books he'd read had told him too. It worked, thank the stars, and he finally went back into Simon's room.
Simon was on his side in the dark, facing Grace's side of the bed, breathing deeply but not enough to be asleep. Grace climbed into bed carefully, like Simon was already asleep, and settled in with a sigh. He swore Simon's mattress was more comfortable, somehow.
“I'm sorry.” Simon whispered behind him, his voice vibrating the bed.
“You don't need to be.” Grace sighed and rolled over, and Simon looked so upset that Grace was inclined to hold him. He reached out before he could think better of it, and right as he stopped himself from actually touching Simon, the dark haired man bridged the gap and pulled Grace in.
They adjusted around, until Grace's arm was under Simon's head, the other one over his shoulder, both hands on his back. Simon had his hand curled up Grace's spine. Grace did his best to keep anything from developing on his end, thinking his hardest about unpleasant things until he stumbled upon the memory of how he came to be in space in the first place. Great, that was definitely a boner-killer, and now he was actually upset. Way to go, Grace's brain!
They didn't speak at all, and they fell asleep like that, waking up in more or less the same position, their legs tangled together.
The night was such a great success that they continued to sleep in the same bed, until eventually, half of Grace's stuff was in Simon's room, and Grace's bed had been untouched in far too long. Was it weird to share a bed with your roommate/friend/the only human around for 16 light years? Probably. Did either of them care? Not even a little bit.
Although Grace was taking a lot more cold showers than he had previously, and almost always first thing in the morning. At first, Simon thought it was because Grace felt gross after sleeping in bed with him, but when they spent a night apart and Grace did it again, Simon figured he just liked to shower first thing.
They became a lot more tactile with one another, too, as a consequence. Grace would place a hand on Simon's shoulder, or grab his hand in excitement, they sat closer together when they watched movies (Simon had heard of them, but they were long gone as a pastime by the time he was old enough to watch any), and they woke up every morning cuddled up. Grace had calmed down a little bit once he realized that he was attracted both romantically and sexually to Simon, in a way he hadn't before, ever.
After he panicked, of course, for an entire day about it.
He tried at first to chalk it up to lack of human contact, but the more he denied him feelings, the further they developed, until even Rocky noticed and he was forced to face the music. He made Rocky swear to never tell anyone, Rocky swore and amended that Adrian had to know, and Grace agreed as long as Adrian also swore to never tell anyone. Especially Simon.
He didn't want to creep him out, especially since the man was forgiving enough to look past Grace's flaws and continue to live with him. He only complained sometimes about Grace's messiness, but it was always in a fond way. Like he didn't mind it.
Grace was getting good at ignoring his own feelings, though, even with the spikes in heart rate every time Simon came back from gardening and clapped a hand on Grace's shoulder, or leaned over Grace when he was typing to see what he was writing about, or rested his head on Grace's shoulder while they watched movies. He didn't want to consider if he had feelings for Grace, too, because if he did that then...
He would be a goner and would not be able to keep his feelings to himself as well as he had been. So he steadfastly ignored any signals his brain tried to give him about Simon maybe liking him too.
Until Simon was too forward for Grace to ignore, that is.
Simon hadn't ever acted on his feelings before, there was always something more important, and eventually he just stopped getting them for people. Life was too messy, people were too busy, or horrible, or morally questionable to the point that Simon wondered if they even practiced the same beliefs. He knew now he thought differently than his brethren, and that they never care for him the way he did them, but it didn't matter anymore.
Because at present, he was very much developing feelings for Grace, and he had no idea what to do about it. Actually, he had several ideas, but he wasn't sure if they were socially appropriate on earth, or to Grace. He couldn't ask Adrian for help, either, because they were an alien and knew probably less than Simon.
Grace had already mentioned before that people shouldn't take notes from romance movies, talking at length about some of his classmates that made that mistake back in college, so Simon's only hope for pointers was dashed pretty quickly.
He tried to parse out if Grace liked him at all, but it was difficult, because there were moments where it seemed like he did, and then moments that seemed like he didn't right after. He complained to Adrian one day, his head in his knees as he lamented his woes.
“Hmm. Adrian know why.” The Eridian hummed, Simon was fluent enough now to understand without a tablet for these short conversations.
“You do?” Simon's head popped up, he looked to the rock hopefully. “Can you tell me?”
“Cannot tell.” Adrian shifted into more of a loaf shape, “Made promise not to.”
But that told Simon more than he could have hoped for, anyways. The type of information people made others swear not to tell was usually favorable, in Simon's case, at least.
“Do you know if Grace knows I...I like him?” Simon asked, maybe the Eridian would answer that question. Adrian seemed to think for a moment, before deciding they could answer.
“Grace does not know.” They sounded pleased with themselves, “Simon will have to tell. Simon not worry about rejection.”
That sealed it, Grace had to feel the same way, right?
And if Simon fucked it up somehow and Grace hated him, both of them had the option to leave the planet altogether. Though, Simon hoped that Grace would be gracious (ha!) enough not to kick him out or move entire planets if Simon revealed how he felt.
He decided he should make a move, but he didn't know what it would be, or when to do it.
In the end, it came about in an impulsive decision on Simon's part after an emotional moment.
Grace burned his hand with hot water, cursing his non-curses under his breath, something like 'fudging fudger, good lord, jeeze louise you little stinker.' and Simon couldn't stop himself from snorting into his coffee.
“What? You think it's funny for me to spill hot water on myself?” Grace complained teasingly.
“No, I think it's funny you still say fudge instead of fuck.” Simon sipped his coffee, struck with an idea. “Why don't you curse, by the way?”
“Force of habit, I was teaching kids so it just kind of...stuck.” Grace sighed and threw a wet towel in the sink, refilling his cup with more hot water.
“I bet I could get you to say fuck.” Simon smirked into his cup, and Grace laughed incredulously.
“No, you couldn't.” He assured the convict, not even bothering to turn around as he spooned instant coffee into his cup.
“I'm going to get you to say fuck.” Simon stated, he was determined.
“No you are not.” Grace actually looked at him now, equally determined by the look on his face.
“Yes I am. I bet you I can.” Simon had a grin on his face, starting to think of the different ways he could do it. It was mostly just to banter with Grace, but it might be fun to try and trick him into cursing.
“You're gonna lose that bet, buddy. I will never say it, not even once.” Grace dropped down into the dining chair next to Simon. “You'll lose all your money and I'll still be saying fudge at the end of the day.”
“We'll see about that.” Simon got up, drinking the last of his coffee as he went to put the cup in the sink.
“That...sounds ominously threatening. What exactly are you planning?” Grace had a concerned look on his face, but less like he was concerned for his safety, and more like he was concerned about his peace of mind. It was a new look to be directed at Simon, he liked it.
“Don't worry about it.” Simon headed to the door.
“Simon.” Grace called after him, suspiciously.
“I'll see you later, gotta tend to the garden,” Simon was out the door, leaving Grace behind with his coffee.
“Simon! What are you planning??” There was a beat, then. “It's not gonna work!!”
Simon smiled to himself, they would see about that.
Things took a decidedly less playful turn that night, though.
Despite the sleeping arrangement, a nightmare still managed to slip through.
But this time it was different.
Simon was on the surface of the blood moon, staring at the sky and watching every light disappear into inky nothing. Constellations he'd never seen in person, but that Grace showed him on a computer, disappeared one at a time. With each light that went out, he heard a distant scream, until the world was dark and there was a chorus of terror all around him, and he was sinking into the blood and struggling against it. It was sucking him in, he struggled and struggled, clawing at the surface that was somehow firm enough for him to do so.
He spotted Grace in the distance, running to him at full speed, arm stretched out. He called his name, Simon tried reaching for Grace too, he was sinking slowly enough that he could reach him in time.
But just as Grace brushed his fingers with his own, Simon was pulled into the blood altogether, becoming engulfed by the tacky, iron and copper liquid. He tried to swim up, his legs were bound, and then the eel was back. It opened it's maw, revealing the SM-13 in it's jaws, Simon could see himself through the gash in the side, drowning and fighting against it, then the eel started to close it's mouth and Simon could feel the crushing pressure and—
“Simon!!”
He gasped so hard he choked on his spit, going into a coughing fit and sitting up as Grace placed a hand on his back, rubbing it up and down. Simon finally regained the ability to breathe, heaving in deep lungfuls to assure himself he wasn't drowning.
“Simon, hey.” Grace's voice was so soft, and kind. “Are you alright?”
Simon looked up and made eye contact, the moment of almost rescue from his dreams flashing through his mind as he threw himself into Grace and held fast to him. He wasn't crying tonight, at least, but he felt oddly hollow and anxious as he laid in Grace's arms and listened to him murmur.
He knew what he needed, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.
“I need to see the stars.” He whispered, though he loathed having to be crammed into a small space to do it, he knew he needed to see. He needed to see with his own eyes, and not the projection screen at the top of the dome. Something in his soul demanded it, to double check.
“Ok.” Grace just accepted it, he didn't question Simon at all. “We can do that. Do you want to talk about your dream at all?”
Simon stared blankly into the darkness, did he?
He did, he found, surprising as it was.
So he opened his mouth and told Grace about his dream, then his experiences, pausing more than once to sob as he remembered the fear he felt, and the remorse, and the fear again, then the ending rage. The entire experience was terrifying, more than any amount of terror he'd ever felt in his life before.
Grace's breath hitched at certain parts, the blood flooding in, the teeth piercing the hull, the screams from Ava. The longer Simon spoke, the tighter he held on, until it almost hurt with how tightly Grace was holding Simon.
“I'm so sorry.” He whispered at the end of it all, Simon could feel tears against his forehead where Grace's chin was pressed. He was crying, too.
“'S'not your fault.” Simon sniffled.
“I'm still sorry it happened.” Grace released a shoulder to wipe his face, sniffling hard. “That should have never happened, Simon.”
“I know.” Simon's voice hitched and his tears renewed, the both of them crying into the rest of the night, Grace pressing kisses to the top of Simon's head from time to time. It was so tender Simon felt like his heart was breaking into two.
They fell back asleep by the time the sun rose, sleeping through Rocky's insistent knocking, and through him bursting into the house when they didn't rise. When they woke up near the afternoon mark, the Eridian was perched at the foot of their bed, legs folded underneath while he watched over them.
They tested if Simon would be alright in the Hail Mary with it still on the ground a few days later, closing the doors and letting him walk around for a few minutes. He'd never been inside before, so Grace decided he could distract him by giving him the grand tour.
“This is the don't go crazy room, I danced with a mop in here, once,” Simon raised his eyebrows, and Grace waved him off, “Don't look at me like that, I couldn't remember anything and I was lonely, ok?” Simon laughed under his breath, the man he loved was goofy enough to dance with a mop. What a revelation.
His steps stuttered. The man he loved? When had the simple crush developed? Why wasn't it hitting him as hard to realize? Had he been in love the entire time?
Grace continued walking him through the Hail Mary, leading ahead and Simon felt calm wash over him as he watched his back. If Grace was with him, he could go into space in the Hail Mary, no problem. He let the teacher lead him through the rest of the ship, each room coming with a new anecdote, adding to the many sides of Ryland Grace as they went.
They launched Mary the next day, concluding that Simon would not have a panic attack after him and Grace spent a few hours in the ship together. Simon still had to breathe deeply through the ascent, humming a tune through a few creaks as the ship was launched into orbit through the heavy atmosphere.
It was rushing, and pressure, his stomach swooping and his heart pounding, and then he was weightless and he was tensing in preparation for impact, eyes squeezed shut.
But it never came, and he heard Grace unbuckle next to him, then he felt his hand on his shoulder and he flinched.
“Hey, it's all good, Simon.” Grace spoke lowly, “Come look, we're above Erid now.”
He didn't want to, he felt ridiculous, all this effort to get him out there and now he didn't want to look out. What if it was blank, or what if it was blood?
“Please help.” He murmured through clenched teeth.
“Oh, oh, okay. um.” Grace sounded nervous. There was a pause, and from what Simon knew about Grace, he was probably flailing and looking for a solution.
Then Simon was being unbuckled, and he squeaked, his eyes flying open as he flung his arm out to grab onto something. He ended up grabbing Grace, the both of them floating through space, Grace's arms coming up to hold Simon to himself.
“Whoa, hey there.” Grace pushed off the ceiling with one arm, “It's all good, we're not going anywhere. You doing any better?” His eyes searched Simon's, blue like a sky he'd never seen in person, and then Simon spotted the window behind Grace.
Stars.
There were so many stars.
He gasped, then sobbed in relief and hope, emotion overflowing into tears. Grace followed his gaze and looked back to Simon, pulling them back towards the window to get a better look.
“There's a better window deeper into the ship.” He offered, Simon cried tears of joy.
“This is perfect.” His voice was wobbly.
They did eventually move to the other port window, once Simon stopped crying, and Grace was looking for alcohol.
“To celebrate the stars!” He said, and Simon couldn't disagree with that.
“Yes!” He heard Grace's voice echo from deeper in the ship, Simon was still floating by the porthole as he let Grace navigate the storage bay. “I knew I had some left!” He came floating down the hallway with a big grin on his face, what looked to be an IV bag in his hand as he grabbed the strings to pull himself along.
“Vodka?” Simon read the label as Grace handed it to him, “I don't think I've ever had this.” He raised an eyebrow, taking a drink through the tube like Grace showed him to.
It was warm, and strong, and slightly sweet. It made him cough.
“Whew!” He laughed, handing the bag back to Grace for the man to take a drink. “Wow that's strong, goddamn.” Grace took a drink and passed it back, Simon took another suck. “Definitely better than the last time I had alcohol.” He passed it back.
“What was the last time?” Grace asked, coughing himself as the vodka hit the back of his throat, he handed it to Simon.
“I was in the sub, I found some rubbing alcohol.” Simon chuckled and took a deep drink, shaking his head at the burn. “It was disgusting.”
“The what you did what?” Grace was frozen in shock, slack jawed, he didn't reach for the bag Simon was holding out, “You drank rubbing alcohol?!”
“I—yeah? I mean, I was in the blood ocean and I was probably going to die, I figured it was better than nothing, and I would at least go out a little bit drunk.” He shrugged, taking another sip of the vodka as Grace continued to stare at him incredulously.
“Simon what the hell!” He exclaimed, Simon grinned, maybe he could get Grace to curse by telling him more stories like this? “Why would you do that?? Oh my god, Simon!” Except, Grace seemed concerned, and Simon didn't like upsetting him. Maybe not, then.
“What?” Simon asked, Grace finally took the bag back, and he took a deep swig of it.
“You can't drink that stuff!” He seemed genuinely distressed, he spoke through the tight throat of alcohol. “It tears your stomach lining apart! Did it not burn at all? Or make you throw up?”
“Come to think of it, I did throw up blood after that.” Simon frowned, “I thought it was unrelated, though.”
“Simon!” Grace's face was flush, his jaw hung open in disbelief. “Oh my goodness.”
“What? I survived.” Simon drank. “It's not any worse than the rest of what happened.”
“Well, yeah, but—“ Grace looked sad.
“I promise I won't drink anymore.” Simon made a cross over his heart, like he'd seen Grace do. “Cross my heart, I'll stick to vodka or whatever else we have.”
“This is everything we have.” Grace sighed deeply, still concerned but seemingly appeased by the promise.
“Well, then I guess I won't be drinking anything after today.” Simon grinned, he could already feel his body loosening up. This stuff was way better than the alcohol he'd had before.
Grace didn't say anymore, but he had a frown on his face for a good while after, until they finished the bag and he got distracted. He was telling Simon about Rocky and how he used to knock everything over, giggling as he described the first time he came into the Hail Mary.
“He was just—“ Giggles, “Rolling around and knocking into things,” Grace was floating upside down, gesturing wildly. “He was like 'wow this is amazing!' then 'oh my god it's so messy' and—“ He devolved into a fit of laughter, Simon reached out to right him. The teacher grabbed him in return, the two of them drifted closer.
Grace couldn't stop laughing, and Simon eventually joined in, until they were laughing at each others laughter, then the fact that they couldn't stop. By the time it died down, Mary was actually concerned about the lack of air they were breathing, and they had to take very shaky deep breaths to chill out.
“I was so scared though.” Grace reminisced. “I woke up here all alone, my crew mates were dead, I couldn't remember anything.” He sobered up a little bit, “It was...not an ideal experience.”
“You mentioned before, why couldn't you remember anything?” Simon frowned, his hand cupped Grace's face to wipe a stray tear. Grace was clutching the front of Simon's flight suit.
“They uh...” Grace smiled mournfully, there was a long pause. “They drugged me to get me on here, I didn't actually want to come.” It was so quiet, Simon could barely hear him.
“What?” Simon felt rage build inside of him. Grace was...forced to come into space??
“Yeah, uh.” Grace reached up to wipe the other eye, knocking his glasses off and not bothering to grab them as they floated away. “They had two scientists, but there was an accident, and I was the only one qualified on such short notice.” He sniffled, Simon tugged him closer and wound his arm around his waist. “I told them I couldn't go, but uh, apparently no was not an acceptable answer.” He smiled tearfully, his face changing into a grimace, Simon pulled him into a hug.
“Jesus fucking christ, Grace.” He murmured, Grace held him back tightly, “God, and then you woke up, there were corpses and—Fuck.” Simon wanted to fight whoever sent Grace up here against his will. “Who the fuck even does that?”
“Eva Stratt, apparently.” Grace's voice was muffled in Simon's chest. “It's fine though, I understand why she—“
“It is not fine, Grace.” Simon brought his hand up to coax Grace's head back, he looked into his eyes. “That is never okay, under any circumstances. They should have had another back up plan, or something else, or found another person.” He had a lump in his throat, he could only imagine how scared Grace was, waking up somewhere with no memories and no way home and two corpses as roommates. “That shouldn't have happened.”
“It—“ Grace looked like he wanted to argue, but it died on his tongue. “I wouldn't have met you, though.” He whispered, “I feel like that was worth it, getting to meet you. And Rocky and Adrian, and the pebbles, and—“
Simon wasn't intending to kiss Grace right then, but apparently his body decided for him, because his eyes were closed and his lips were pressed to Grace's, and Grace was inhaling sharply through his nose. He tasted salt from his tears, and the sweet bitter of vodka.
He pulled back soon after, an apology ready, but Grace yanked him back and kissed him again, and this kiss was decidedly less innocent than the first. It was sloppy, virtue of their drunkenness, or maybe they just wanted each other that badly, either way, Simon couldn't have cared less. He'd only kissed a few other people in his life, and this one took the cake.
Simon pushed his tongue into Grace's mouth and the man whimpered, and Simon immediately felt the need to fuck him into another solar system. He tried to convey his desire through the kiss, Grace was making all sorts of delicious noises into his mouth as they kissed, his hands gripping Simon's suit so hard he could have torn it.
They pulled apart for air, panting into one another's space, spit floating between them, and Simon pulled Grace closer to hump his hips into him while he stared into his eyes. Grace's eyes rolled back and his jaw dropped, he let out an almost hurt noise at the motion. Simon groaned with him.
“Can I please fuck you?” Simon strained out, the both of them frotting into the other now. Grace gasped and grabbed Simon's shoulder, his eyes flying open, pupils fat with arousal.
“Please.” He panted, “Oh my god, please.” Simon hadn't ever been with another man, but he knew the mechanics of anal.
“Lube? Do we have lube?” Simon asked, looking around the room desperately.
“Yeah, yeah, yes. The—get the first aid kit.” Grace was reaching behind him into empty space, but he wouldn't let go of Simon.
“Gravity?” Simon asked next, it might be difficult to do this floating around, as fun as it might be to try. Another time.
“Uhh, shoot, yeah.” Grace swallowed and closed his eyes, trying to think. “You get the kit, I'll get gravity going?”
“Sounds good to me.” Simon stole another kiss from Grace, mashing their lips together and separating, then doing it again because he had only kissed him thrice but he was already addicted to it.
They stared at each other for another moment before Grace was pushing Simon off, his eyes never leaving the convict, and then Simon was turning and looking for the first aid kit, sincerely hoping they had enough lube because there was no chance he would be doing this and hurting Grace in the process.
Less than a minute later, Simon heard the mechanics of the ship shifting, and gravity slowly introduced itself, the items previously floating now scattered on the ground. Simon found the first aid kit, there wasn't any lube in it, but behind it was a surgical kit, and that did have lube. A lot of it, all medical grade.
Simon only just barely stood from fetching it before Grace was back and on him again, kissing him desperately and backing Simon up until he was against a wall. Simon took the opportunity to flip them, pressing Grace into the wall and relishing in the excited moan he got in response.
They stripped fairly quickly after that, barely separated long enough to take the items off before they were on each other. Simon climbed on top of Grace, between his legs and slotting their naked hips together as he kissed him again. They both groaned into the contact, Grace was gasping sharply at every movement.
Simon sincerely hoped this would last long enough for them to actually fuck, it had been a long time since he'd been with anyone. Simon pushed the bottle into Grace's hand, pulling back to watch as Grace got the hint and opened it for him, pouring a generous amount into his palm.
“You ever...?” Simon hoped Grace had pointers for him.
“No.” Grace shook his head, his eyes were wide where he looked at Simon.
“Guess we're both new to it, then.” Simon chuckled and kissed Grace again, barely pulling back to murmur, “Tell me if it's too much, or I'm going to fast, anything.” Grace nodded and he reconnected their lips, bringing his hand down to coat Grace's entrance.
Grace squirmed as he massaged against the tight furl of muscle, letting out little noises every time Simon added pressure. The convict told him to relax, switching to sucking hickies into Grace's neck so the man could speak if he needed anything. Slowly, Simon eased a finger inside of Grace, his cock jumping at the gasp the man let out as he pressed his finger to the hilt.
He went slower, getting Grace used to the feeling, switching his pointer with his index to reach deeper, then adding the pointer back and pushing in much more slowly. Grace let out an interesting gurgling moan, Simon glanced up to check on him, and found the man with his head thrown back, eyes closed, and jaw slack. He seemed like he was enjoying it, at least.
Simon pumped slowly, adding scissoring to the mix, Grace was gasping and whining now, his hands grabbing at Simon's shoulders. Simon felt like he was going to lose it if he made any more noises like that, he tried to focus his attention to marking up as much of Grace's skin as he could.
They worked up to three, and Simon started feeling around for the bump he'd heard his neighbor's cell mates talk about late at night. It should be close to the entrance, two inches in, they said, Simon prodded and petted and—
“Shit!” Grace almost levitated off the ground, his hips jumping and falling down, crying out the entire time.
“Found it.” Simon grinned triumphantly. Grace let out a desperate moan as he pressed against it again. Simon scissored and petted intermittently, until Grace was sobbing and begging.
“Please, please just—Simon pleaaase.” He was gasping and crying, Simon tested his hole by spreading his fingers as wide as he could, drawing a garbled plea out of Grace.
He was ready.
Grace was not expecting that getting fucked would feel like this.
Simon slid inside slowly, coated in lube, his hand wiped dry on one of their jumpsuits and gripping Grace's hip. It was overwhelming, so much so that Grace had to grab his cock and squeeze to keep from coming already. Holy moly this was good.
Simon paused at different intervals until he was buried to the hilt, Grace felt like he was choking on it with how deep he was. His thighs were shaking on either side of Simon, he was gasping and hanging onto Simon's thighs to anchor himself.
The first thrust made him shout, the second made him whimper, and every other one punched some kind of whine-whimper-moan out of him as Simon increased the pace.
He couldn't get a full breath, it felt incredible, the feeling of Simon pushing into him and pulling out just as quick, pressure along his prostate and the stretching of his walls, the sound of the wet connection of their hips. It was so much. It was perfect, he wanted more.
Simon hooked his arm under Ryland's left leg, pressing it forward as far as it would go, which wasn't far because Ryland was a middle aged man, but the angle still changed deliciously enough to have Grace crying tears of pleasure anyways.
“God you're perfect.” Simon growled under his breath, Grace's cock jumped, his hands were fisted in the stray clothing on the ground. Grace hooked his other leg against Simon's shoulder, the both of them being on equal ground allowing Simon to push them further up.
Grace cried out, every single thrust was pounding directly into his prostate.
“Oh god!” He gasped, “Simon! Ohhhhmy gooood, Simon, Simon,” He was whimpering like a wounded animal, good lord. “Holy—oh my—Si!” His voice was getting higher, he was getting closer, oh god he was going—“I'm gonna come, I'm gonna—oh my god—“ He was almost hyperventilating.
“Shit!” Simon pressed his mouth into Ryland's knee, breathless, “Fuck, you want me to come inside?”
Grace clenched down involuntarily, gasping and bucking at the suggestion. Huh, that was a new reaction.
“You like that?” Simon asked breathlessly, his eyes connected with Grace's, dark and hungry. “You want me to breed you, baby?”
“Oh my—ff—“ Grace felt a whole body jolt of arousal strike through him, he was right on the edge, everything was tingling. Oh god he had a breeding kink??
“That's it, you gonna come on my cock?” Simon was speaking lowly, his voice deep, his hips going harder than before, Ryland never wanted it to stop. “Come on, come on, sweetheart, come on.” Grace was sobbing, his body tensing up more and more, he couldn't get his hands to move to grab his dick.
“Fuck!” Grace shouted, he couldn't help it, it was too much.
“There you go, gonna come so deep inside of you,” Simon's eyes were wild, he was growling into Grace's leg, his rhythm getting sloppier and faster. “Make sure it takes, fuck it deeper, yeah? Come on, Ryland.”
He had a kink for his first name too, apparently, because now he was coming so hard he couldn't hear anything, he was pretty sure he was screaming, and his vision was whiting out. He returned to reality gasping and trembling, barely coming out of it just in time to feel Simon jerk and spill inside of him, and then he was groaning and coming again somehow, or reviving the first orgasm, something, it didn't matter because he had pure pleasure running through his veins and he was still going and—
He must have blacked out, the next moment he was aware, Simon was laid on top of him and panting, Grace's legs were flopped onto the ground on either side of him and aching. He was pulling in lungfuls of air, a little bit less than hyperventilating, but still panting. Little shocks of pleasure were still zinging through his blood, his entire body more deeply satisfied than he had ever felt after sex.
“Holy crap.” He managed to make his mouth move, Simon huffed a laugh on top of him.
“Thank god we're in space.” Simon eventually panted, “I think if Rocky heard you screaming like that he would have come running to rescue you.”
“Oh my god.” Grace groaned, Simon was right, “Holy hell, yeah.” He giggled then, delirious with endorphins. “I take it you like me?” He asked through the giggles.
“Fuck like, I love you,” Simon slurred, his mouth was mashed into Grace's chest. Grace's heart skipped a beat.
“You love me?” He felt tears in his eyes, he was going to cry, oh no. “I love you, too.” Aaaand he was crying, fantastic. Simon laughed wetly on top of him, and lifted his head, and oh he was crying too. They could be cry babies together, then.
Simon lifted himself enough to press their foreheads together, his tears falling onto Grace's cheeks, smiling fully.
Grace felt like he could take on the entire planet of Erid and win, he wrapped his arms around his lover and kissed him on the cheek, then on the mouth, and on his cheek and he was just kissing every part of Simon he could reach. The man above him was laughing softly and accepting the affection, his heart equally full of love for the other man.
Rocky and Adrian were eagerly waiting their return when they landed, asking how it went, pestering them with questions as Simon and Grace tried to walk back to their house without betraying anything with their gaits, Grace more so.
“Why Grace walk strange?”
They couldn't trick the Eridians, apparently.
That night, laying in bed next to each other, Simon suddenly started snickering.
“What?” Grace mumbled, face pressed into Simon's chest.
“I got you to say fuck,” He laughed, barely getting the sentence out.
“You—“ He absolutely did, Grace remembered it now. “Gosh dang it.”
Simon laughed more uproariously, and Grace sighed in defeat. He waited for Simon to stop laughing before he spoke again.
“We didn't bet anything, though.”
“I'll figure something out.” Simon sounded suspiciously salacious. Grace closed his eyes and assumed he'd find out later.