blushing silly

This post by @synthyk is so so good and right and big brained

Rocky feels vaguely disgusted and neutral on being basically treated like an ice cream, but Grace looks nice when he's so desperate so he'll endure a little bit

They both find each other hot! But not everything, not immediately, and not in the same way or for the same reasons.

The breakdown goes like this:

Well that was Not Great. But he puts up with my weirdness, so. -> I know you need this so go ahead :) -> well. it's kinda hot the way it makes him so wet and desperate and I'm just standing here unaffected... -> oh yeah... put your fucking mouth on me... keep trying to lick me... -> Uh Oh! I think I'm fundamentally changed forever!

Love the soft, curious moments of them sharing about their own cultures, biology, etc. I do think Rocky would have a field day when Grace explains skin as a very sensitive and permeable organ with lots of stuff packed tight on the surface. Since goosebumps are very tactile, I thought Rocky would enjoy hearing those.

Also, bonus.

cmere white boy lemme study you

so when rocky finds out the word "grace" also means mercy, unmerited favour, and not to mention saving grace — a redeeming factor. grace was rockys redemption, he was the one who saved rocky, he gave rocky the solution to the dying sun, he turned back for him.

grace was rockys message of mercy sent by the universe itself.

Grace meets Rocky, and Rocky looks exactly like a human except for pointy ears or another minor detail.

Grace has a crash out about Star Trek being real or smth and how convergent evolution DOES NOT WORK LIKE THAT!

Meanwhile Rocky is just: "we live in a budget tv show universe, statement. Universe ran out of bodyplans."

Grace: Why do you look like a human!? Aliens are supposed to be rock spiders, not unrealistic rubber forehead humans!! 😭

Rocky: idk. Why Grace not a floating jellyfish, question?

Rocky: Adrian going to be disappointed that Soleans not have tails like in eridian!star trek, statement.

[What does hand flex mean, question?] Rocky asks from where we're huddled together on the floor, watching the 2005 adaption of Pride & Prejudice. Well he's huddled, pressed into my side, one arm under my pillow, two more slung over my hip, still in his pajamas. I'm stretched out trying to somewhat distribute myself away from his heat, though with my hands still idly moving over his carapace I'm doing a bit of a poor job at that. "It's uh—" I hit pause, search for the right word. "Have we had yearning in the vocab yet? Missing someone or something so much it hurts. You can yearn for a place, like the house you grew up in, or for something more abstract like uhm— freedom, or happiness or something. Or rather— here it's wanting to be with someone so much it hurts. Like you love them so much it's painful when you can't be together." Rocky straightens up in alarm. [Humans in danger when away from mate, question? Why not tell Rocky, question?]

dog days

[read on ao3]

ship: grace/rocky

words: 14,789, completed

tags: post-movie, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, codependent relationship, nuclear grade yearning, miscommunication but only in the sense that grace's inherent self doubt is making him delusional, rocky is VERY clear about his intentions, fellas is it cheating if you merge your soul with your alien bff who also technically has a mate (It's not), the concept of being a middle aged man trapped in a fishbowl light-years from earth haunted by ur own narrative, demisexual ryland grace, mention of childhood neglect, first person grace pov, epistolary elements, not beta read we die like the sun

Then he met Grace and the first thing Grace did was go 'I wonder if they use pronouns? I don't know how their gender works... I'm just gonna use the same pronouns as me!'

And when Grace explains pronouns and gender Rocky goes "Oh.... Oh I am keeping you." Because Grace -without even realising it- described something in Rocky that he couldn't explain. -Rocky is subsequently ecstatic about using he/him pronouns.

Despite being blasé about it, it only takes a few extra weeks before Grace is wearing skirts and singlet tops more often, and letting the facial hair go wild because who cares? And it kinda... Works, on them. And then Grace freaks out realising they've internally switched to using they/them pronouns personally. It's only Rocky explaining that being gender neutral on Erid is normal, and having a strong sense of gender makes HIM weirder that helps Grace a little.

And then they start having a really supportive, yet utterly befuddled conversation about what the heck is going on with gender between the two of them, and the ultimate conclusion is; do what makes you happy and we can figure the rest out later (or not)!