How did I get here (to be with you)
Fandom: Iron lung and Project Hail Mary
Summary: How did he get here? It was a question Simon had asked himself a lot during his life, normally with a bitter tang. Lately though, that question has a different tone as he builds his new life on Erid, and forms a relationship with its only other human resident.
Dynamics: SFW, Ler!Simon, Ler!Grace, Simon x Grace
It was a question Simon had asked himself a lot during his life, normally with the bitter tang of resentment, anger, confusion, or the crushing unfairness of it all.
How did he get here, watching the very last tree of Eden shrivel and die?
How did he get here, fighting in a war and taking the fall for the actions of other men? Men who blew up Filament Station and didnāt have the decency to live to see the death and destruction they caused.
How did he get here, getting shuffled from a prison cell to an iron casket? Sinking to the bottom of a blood ocean and fighting for his life, fighting to simply stay alive please please god I want to liveā¦
How did he get here, on an alien planetāa planet that should have been taken by the Quiet Rapture like the rest of them? Cut from the bowels of the iron lung and awakening in a geodesic dome filled with the soft sounds of a beach. Missing his left arm, gaining extra teeth embedded in his face, and left wondering what was fact and what was hallucination. Here, a place crawling with sentient rock creatures, and the piercing blue eyes of the only other human for light-years aroundāhow did he get here?
Many of those questions would remain unanswered, taunting and grating in the back of his mind for the rest of his life. Others were answered by a soft, warm voice, admitting to only knowing part of the story but promising to help fill in some of the missing pieces.
A lot of time, for the horrors of his life to dim a little, enough to start living.
It took time for his remaining arm to loosen, to resist the urge to hold up his fist and fight fight fight. Time to accept that he was safe here, he didnāt need to be so guarded. To allow a hesitant smile to find his face when he watches his blond-haired companion bicker with his rock friend. Even more time to allow himself to seek out Grace's company on purpose, to allow a friendly pat to his shoulder, to parry one of Grace's corny jokes with a dry one of his own.
It took time still to be able to shock Grace with a surprisingly gentle hug, given after a very thoughtful gift of a little sapling. To forget himself and laugh freely in Rylands presenceāRyland now, no longer just āGraceāāand cherish the returned laughter. To form a relationship where shy smiles were reciprocated, trust was threaded into every interaction, warm lips met warm lips, a hand finding a home in his hand.
All of this took time, yet he still canāt grasp the changes sometimes.
How did he get here, where Simon can allow himself to feel like a boy again, meeting every tease with one of his own? Where touch doesn't mean pain, but merely affection and stupid play. Where he trusts Ryland enough to let those two hands taser his sides again and again, until eventually the man pushes his luck one poke too far.
How did he get here, chasing Ryland across the beach, the manās laughter ringing in his ears and a mischievous smile on Simon's face, retaliation firmly on his mind?
He decides for this moment he doesnāt care how he got here, not when he finally catches up to Ryland, his lone arm wrapping around the manās waist and pulling them both to the ground.
āYou donāt know when to quit, do you, you stubborn thing?ā Simon growls playfully as he wrestles Ryland into a pin. It takes some maneuvering with only one arm, but he manages it: one of Rylandās wrists trapped beneath his knee, the other held above his head in Simonās remaining hand.
Ryland is still huffing from the chase, but his smile is unmistakable, and the flush in his cheeks has very little to do with the exercise.
āYou just make it so easy,ā he counters, and thereās laughter at the edge of his words.
āEasy?ā Simon questions, his brow quirking up in offence but a grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. āI make it easy to taser me because I only have one arm?ā
There was a time this would have been a sensitive topic, but not anymore. With Ryland, who makes him feel loved despite his mutations and missing arm, there is room for this playful teasing. Simon is secure in the knowledge that it stems from love and the deep comfort they have found with each other, and never malice.
Rylands smile grows, and he meets Simonās eyes with a defiant twinkle.
āYeah, basically,ā he says, and juts his chin out, a nonverbal sign for āwhat are you going to do about it?ā
Simon flicks his eyes up and down Ryland, considering his options. He knows what he wants to do, but doing it now might be difficult.
Ryland knows what Simon wants to do too. He flashes him a smug smirk and, apparently convinced heās won, says, āWhat a shame. No arms left to tickle with.ā
God, he can be such a brat. Simon loves it.
But he also canāt let that attitude slide, so when the idea strikes him, he acts on it immediately. Without fanfare, he lets Ryland see his grin grow a bit wider and more mischievous, and then ducks down.
He buries his face into the side of Rylands neck and unleashes a devastating onslaught of ticklish raspberries, kisses, and nibbles. He makes sure to get at his ears tooāusing the scruff of his beard to his advantageāand he basks in the explosive laughter and desperate squirming it causes.
A rumbling chuckle escapes him and joins Rylands shrieks and wild cacklingāand while he presses his ever growing smile to Rylands neck to deliver another vicious raspberryāhe has a thought.
He's not sure how he got here, but he's so happy he did.
A/N: ⦠remember when I said I didnāt write for bloodymary? WELP. Listen, itās not my fault. All the adorable fics and art on here have inspired me, even though I only saw iron lung once months ago. I had this image in my head of Simon pining Grace but not having enough arms to tickle so he has to get creative, and if I could draw Iād be unstoppable, but I canāt, so you get this. TAKE IT.
Anywho, I promise Iām writing the Ler Grace fic lol, it seems I just needed to torment him one more time. He's just SO Lee coded istg.
A/N 2: I ran out of tags!! But basically I just wanted to say I hope the characterization came out ok!!! Again Iāve only watched Iron Lung once and it was many months ago. All information and characterization about that game and movie Iāve mostly gotten from fics, so hopefully the lore is correct š