Re:the Rocky is soo incredibly unwell by eridian standards and Grace only notices once they arrive at Erid post
Most of their sensory input comes from sound, so eridians value sound-isolated and smooth spaces, both for privacy and to concentrate/relax. Grace's absolute mess of a ship and his constant breathing and moving drive Rocky crazy (and he can still hear him eat! Yuck!) but he can't bear not hearing someone else at all times either.
Being stranded in a truly dead ship only messes him up further. He doesn't add a single opaque panel to his atmospheric barrier for their four-year trip and often just. follows Grace around through the ship. Privacy and culture rules be damned, because even while awake he gets anxious whenever he's out of Grace's immediate sight.
Eridians do value physical closeness with people they care about but sleep watching from someone's chest is often considered embarrassing or "gross" (that's literally where the mouth is. Eugh.) Most people associate it with being in the honeymoon phase with a new mate or intimately caring for a dying loved one.
Rocky constantly worries about Grace and is annoying about it. Grace ends up with a mental image of eridians as naggy, a bit neurotic and permanently anxious (kind of like cheetahs but scary smart!) when that's very much not the norm.
Rocky asks how he can better help him through the trip all the time. Grace assumes that's part of how eridians show care for close friends, when many people actually value independence rather than interdependence during their waking hours. Especially in the cultural area Rocky comes from, it's seen as hugely disrespectful to assume when/if someone needs support.
In short, Grace makes so many wrong assumptions and commits so many social faux pax's because Rocky's either too embarrassed to admit he may have communicated some things wrong or not even aware of just how bad he's doing
