Its Just Em✨🩷

Upon meeting, I’m sure they could feel the anxiety rush through me. Not only was I nervous just to meet them, the alien mate of my best friend, but also the hulking size made me feel a lot more vulnerable than I once did.

“Grace heart beat fast. Grace okay, question?” Adrian questions as I stare up at them in awe.

“Uh, yes, yes. I just—I wasn’t expecting you to be so…” I tried to find words that don’t sound like an insult—"So much bigger than Rocky!” I smiled.

But now after a few weeks it has become my normal. I'm forever gracious for Adrian's support and willingness to uproot a big part of their life for me. When Rocky stated they would live with me, my first thought was how Adrian was going to feel about the arrangement. They only just got Rocky back, and now you have to live with his weird alien roommate that has trauma bonded together. I was sure there would be some pushback, but there wasn't. I learned, unlike Rocky, that Adrian is quiet and laid-back. Although still blunt when it comes to communicating, they seem to keep a lot of their thoughts to themselves. It’s actually a little irritating. I’m so used to Rocky coming out and saying whatever is on his mind, making it easier to read him but not Adrian. I can’t seem to read them and I’m not sure if that’s on purpose or not. I’m worried they don’t like me, for various reasons but Rocky has assured me that’s not true but I can’t shake the feeling.

They seem perfectly content in my and Rocky's presence, listening to us talk nonsense. I try to awkwardly include them in our talks but their answers are short and sweet. I haven’t had any alone time with them either, which I’m kind of happy about but also feel guilty at the same time.

"Rocky go get Grace present!” Rocky exclaims excitedly, pushing himself up off the bed. Me, him, and Adrian were all cuddled together; well, Adrian was on the floor because of their size, in my bed just relaxing. He scrambles out the door to the second part of the house behind mine. They added an extension to my house that is compatible for them. Rocky said it's so he and Adrian can always watch me sleep even without their suits. I shift my gaze to Adrian.

“Sorry for talking so much.” I say, rolling over to see them better once Rocky was gone.

“Adrian does not mind. I enjoy listening to sound of Rocky and Grace voice. Is cute.” They say softly, brushing off my comment. I blush a bit at that and look away. 

“I know I just—I feel like I'm hogging Rocky from you. You guys should be out together, spending time one on one. You were apart for so long, and now I'm in the way too.” I shift to sit up but one of Adrian's huge appendages softly pushes me back down onto the bed. They place it across my shoulder all the way down to my opposite hip, kind of like a seatbelt. They slowly lower their weight, not enough to hurt but to feel comfortable. I feel my face getting a bit warmer; Adrian and I have yet to make any physical contact up until now. I reach a hand up and softly grasp their leg.

“Grace. I love Rocky. Adrian wait many years for Rocky to come back from space. Grace brought Rocky back to me and save Erid.” They express themselves in a way that makes me feel ridiculous for even having those thoughts in the first place. 

“Yes, but—" 

“Adrian love Grace.” My head flings in their direction while my face is an unhealthy color at this point. I raise my one hand not trapped by Adrian to cover my face. I hear Adrian let out a small chuckle and bring another arm up. They caress my head and play with my hair, ever so gently, in the soothing way they have seen Rocky do. “Grace does not need to say back. Adrian love all of Grace and is in debt for everything Grace has done.” Crap, I am not used to these kinds of compliments. “Grace face full of blood. Grace embarass, question?" They chirp, coming out amused. I don't know how Adrian reads me so well already; it must be all the observing they've done.

I think about lying, but they can already tell anyway. “Uh yes, sorry. I just wasn't expecting that. It was nothing, really. I love Rocky too; it was not a hard decision.” I laugh out loud. 

“Is everything.”

I flinch, and I don't know why. Adrian's words move me in a way no one else has, even Rocky's. I think because they seem so truthful, they wholeheartedly believe everything they say.

“Sorry. Adrian did not mean to make Grace uncomfortable. Grace…is not nothing. Grace is everything.” they reiterate. I feel the sting of tears in my eyes and a lump going in my throat, trying not to let any tears or emotions spill out. God, I'm such a crybaby. I sniffle and remove my hand from my face. Adrian jerks back, like I just burned them. “Grace hurt, question? Adrian did not mean to cause injury!” they frantically say, reaching a claw back to pet at my head again. “Where hurt, question?” they demand.

“Ah no no, Adrian, I'm okay. Just emotional—not sad though!” I reassure him. "I'm happy you feel that way. So happy. I love you too, just so you know." I look back over with a smile on my face. They relax and settle back down. 

“Rocky back with present!” he scuttles in with a small box in his hand but stops dead in his tracks seeing me in tears with Adrian consoling me. ”What happen question?” he places the box down and jumps on the bed. “Was not gone long. Is Grace okay, question?” 

Adrian snickers softly “Big human emotion. Is Adrian's fault.” 

“No! Not anyone's fault. I'm happy Rocky, really.” I try to convince him as I wipe my eyes, but he doesn't seem to believe me.

Rocky hums in thought for a few seconds. “Good time for Rocky to show Adrian how to cheer up Grace!” he says excitedly. Adrian chips from the other side of me and agrees. 

“Wait, wait, how are you—" Before I can even get my sentence out, Rocky has two claws in either one of my armpits. I slam my arms down with a squeal, “Rohohoky wahahait I-I said I wahas hahaHAHAPY-NOHOHO!” I twist and turn in his grip, and I'm suddenly very aware of Adrian, who is doing nothing but staring at me. I feel my face reignite as Adrian analyzes my sounds and reactions. 

“What Rocky do to Grace, question?” Adrian asks, pulling the hand that was petting my head away. They shift a bit closer to the bed as I start begging with Rocky as his claws shift down to my ribs.

“This is called 'tickle!' Humans react to touch with laughter. Is cute, question?” 

"Agree. Is cute.” Adrian says giggling. I squeeze my eyes shut and twist my head away from Adrian. It's one thing to have tickle fights while barreling through space for years, but to be spread out and tickled as a demonstration for another is a new level of embarrassment I didn't even know about.

They keep talking about tickling me specifically, like I'm not being tickled to pieces under Rocky. “NOHOhohoh Rohohky! Adriahahan, make him stoHOHOP!” I twist around, my arms grabbing onto Rocky's. I feel them slow and think my torment is finally finished when a large weight presses down on the other side of the bed. A rather large claw grabs and pulls my arms all the way over my head. My eyes pop open to see Adrian gently holding my arms while Rocky and they loom over me. They're not tickling me anymore, but I can't help the giggles that escape me. ”Ahahadrian, please! You know whahahat it is nohow. I feel so muhuch better! Rocky, I'm okay!" I try to plead with the two aliens. "I'll doho anything you want! I promise!” 

They stay quiet for what feels like forever and then Adrian answers. “Adrian want…to listen to Grace laugh!” a sinister laugh followed by both aliens. 

“Adrian squeeze here and here,” Rocky instrucks and Adrian does just that. His claws are so much bigger than Rocky’s, maybe slightly bigger than the average human hand. He grabs at my side and squeezes experimentally. I buck up with a squeal pulling hard at my arms.

“AHAHadrian nohoho! Dohont tehHEACH THEM R-ROHOCKY-hahaha!” I rock back and forth with new tears coming to my eyes. 

“Rocky must teach. If Rocky gone, Adrian will cheer Grace up. Adrian also squeeze here.” he states pointing to my stomach.

“I-I dohont neheheheed HEHEHELP-NOHOHO” Adrian uses another leg to squeeze all around my stomach, while his other hand drifts down to my hip. They dig into the bone, and my legs kick out behind them. Adrian's touches are light but firm, making my brain feel like mush.

“Grace most tickle spots are tummy, hip, and back. Some on leg too!” I shake my head vigorously while my face heats up even more. “NOHOHO DOHOHNT TEHEHELL! R-Rhohoky shuhuht uhuhp!” Adrian hums in acknowledgment while drifting the hand that was on my hip down to my thigh, experimentally squeezing. My leg kicks out as I squeak and throw my head back. Rocky grabs my glasses that were askew, placing them safely off to the side.

Adrian slowly stops their attacks, thank god. They keep a hold on my arms but, other than that, let me regain my breath. I'm still giggling at the tingling sensation around my middle. Sweat beads my head and tears stain my face.

“Adrain do not even have to tickle to tickle Grace!” Rocky chirps excitedly. My eyes fly open to see what they are talking about, and I see Rocky's claws making a squeezing motion above my sides. I can't help but start giggling and twisting again as goosebumps spread over my skin.

“Shohop! Thahats m-mean!” I shiver. My eyes catch Adrian, who has been surprisingly quiet throughout most of this, and I blush again. I can't tell what they're thinking, and it's driving me even more crazy. I know I'm already weird, but I don't know! I could have been not ticklish weird too. 

I guess they sense my looks and comment “Grace very cute. Laugh very nice.” As I giggle like a mad man. I think they're doing this on purpose.

“Agree.” Is all Rocky says as he lowers his hands. Adrian finally lets go and I quickly curl in on myself, with a goofy smile across my face. 

“Humans so strange.” Adrian states again, bringing their claws up to my hair once again. They gently scratch at my scalp and I happily melt into the touch. I'm so happy they like me, love me even. Rocky jumps off the bed to grab the discarded present, then hops back up. 

Despite the companionship he has, an awful emptiness latched its teeth into his core and wouldn’t abate. No matter how much time he’d spend with Rocky or watch clips of Earth in the Don’t Go Crazy Room, the feeling of wrongness stayed, and Grace has no idea how to stop it. 

A shudder runs through his form, making Grace hunch further in on himself, gripping onto his arms. His skin ached something fierce, despite his hands rubbing along the surface in a meager attempt to self-soothe against the barrage of phantom needles. What he would give to be bundled in his mother’s arms like he was ten again after tumbling off his bike and scraping his knee. Or being smothered in his dad’s all-encompassing embrace after a failed science experiment, a promise that one day, “He’d be the smartest and coolest of all scientists”. What he’d give for any form of hug at all whilst in deep space-

The invisible aches haunting his body intensify in a sudden surge. Grace freezes in place, struck by a daunting realisation.

…Oh. 

It was cruel and unfair, but it made sense. The urge to cry welling up behind his eyes has Grace's breath shuddering out of him sporadically. 

“Grace, okay, question?”

The doubled thudding of the Eridian’s back leg cuts through the static building in Grace’s head. He looks to the side and finds the alien ‘watching’ him intently, his carapace shifting in blatant concern. 

Grace has to push the word out of his throat. “...No.” He rubs his palm along his arm with a disconnected fervor. It doesn’t feel as though the warmth of his own skin is even getting through. 

“What problem, question?” 

How could he even begin to explain the torrential emotions wreaking havoc on his wrung-out body? “There’s something wrong with me.”

“Grace sick? Question?” Rocky is growing restless, feet thunking against the xenonite shell of his ball.

Grace swallows back the lump trying to start an uprising of sadness in his throat. It was a persistent battle. “It’s a human thing,” he rasps. “I don’t know if it can be helped.”

“Explain. Rocky fix.”

Grace shakes his head as he burrows into his arms, both to hide his burning eyes and to escape this conversation. Rocky couldn’t fix it. Bless that alien’s heart of gold for trying, but he just couldn’t. What Grace needed, what he was craving, was human touch. It had been years since he left Earth, and his skin was growing desperate for an inkling of steady, warm contact. But by abandoning his journey to Earth in favour of saving his best friend - which he didn’t regret for a second, mind you - he’d robbed himself of the chance to ever experience it again. 

Granted, the last memory of touch was being forcibly restrained to the ground, suffocating pressure pinning him down as he screamed for help that would never come. Not exactly a golden recollection of human connection. 

A steady series of tapping filters into Grace’s ears, getting past the marching band thumping away. He peeks over his forearm. Rocky has rolled himself so close that he’s right beside his friend. 

“Heartbeat fast,” the Eridian states, worry warbling through his medeloic voice. “Bad, bad, bad. Oxygen needed.”

He’s close enough that Grace can feel the alien’s warmth through the xenonite. His skin practically buzzes with the idea of leaning against the Eridian’s stone-like form, multiple arms encircling him with a pressure that could settle his racing thoughts and lonely heart.

Grace can’t help it. He gives in to his pathetic, human instincts. 

His arms stretch out from his self-contained ball of panic to clutch around the xenonite, drag Rocky into his chest, and slump against the warm, glass-like surface. A sob tries to strangle his throat, but any noise is kept locked behind Grace’s pursed lips. Rocky tucks himself against the wall separating them, soft melodic noises rumbling from his form in an attempt to settle the erratic pounding he can hear within Grace’s chest. He’d only heard this in moments of extreme distress for his human, and it hurt every time. Though Grace is trying to stay quiet, soft plinks of moisture hitting the top of the zenonite were heard loud and clear for the alien.

Grace clings to the zenonite ball as tightly as he can, trying to trick his mind into believing that the smooth, warm surface was what it was after. That this hug shared between two species unable to co-exist within the same environment is enough for his human instincts. 

His skin prickles. The tears keep falling. It isn’t enough. And it is going to stay that way for as long as he is away from Earth. 

A shudder runs through the man at this bleak thought, the ever-expanding pit in his chest feeling as though it’s swallowing up his entire being. 

As if he heard the emotional casam split further, Rocky’s warbles take on a mournful croon. “Grace, tell Rocky what wrong. Please?”

Grace presses his tear-stained cheek against the warm surface, sighing miserably. 

“I’m touch starved.” He says it quietly, fingertips brushing over a surface that isn’t organic enough to trick his brain into thinking it’s skin. “Humans are social beings; we naturally seek connection, and with that comes physical contact. It’s common with anyone we’re close to, not just mates. It’s ingrained into us to co-regulate, so when we go for a long time without that, it causes us to experience skin hunger. It makes humans feel bad.” 

Rocky cocks his body to the side, akin to tilting one's head. “Is hug helping badness?”

Grace wishes he could say yes, but then he’d be lying, and he didn’t want to do that to Rocky. Shaking his head miserably, Grace scrubs a fist across his eyes to stem the flow of tears. “No. I’m hugging you, but I can’t feel you hugging back. Pressure is a key thing with hugging; it feels safer that way.”

Rocky trills sadly. “Apologies.”

Grace shakes his head again, but this time it’s paired with a weak, sincere smile. “It’s not your fault. Just sucks that our biologies are so different. I bet you’d give really good hugs without this thing in the way.” Grace knocks twice on the ball, emphasizing the distance between them.  

Rocky chitters, though there’s something contemplative about his tone now - an inquisitive warble rumbling through the plates atop his body. He leans away from Grace, his back legs thumping against the casing of his ball as he thinks. “Rocky has idea.”

“Yeah?” Grace lets his arms fall away, desperately ignoring the loss they feel as the warmth disappears from them. There was no need to be clingy. It wasn’t exactly like the hug was helping him in the long run. It was like putting a sticky plaster over a gaping chest wound and calling it a day.

Rocky trills again, more full-bodied. Determined. “Yes. Need to begin work now. Will show Grace when ready.” Rocky is practically buzzing. An eagerness tugging at his limbs as he fidgets in place, itching to start whatever ‘mystery project’ he’s begun cooking up.

“...You gonna tell me what your idea is?”

The alien gives Grace his version of a thumbs up and happily chirps, “No.”

______________________________________________________________

Two days. 

Rocky has been working nonstop for two days. 

To make it even more peculiar, he hasn’t allowed Grace anywhere near him as he crafts. Any time Grace sets foot in the lab, he gets hissed at. Forget Eridans being extraterrestrial lifeforms of complex intelligence. That sentient stone spider is a cat in disguise. Grace has it on good authority that the little guy practically purrs whenever he’s smug or has done something clever. There was simply no other way to describe the happy trills rumbling from his body. 

So, Grace has been forced to amuse himself with other things on the Hail Mary, as his only companion is acting like a kid fresh into puberty and staying in his room to play video games. Fortunately, Stratt had been generous enough to provide enough stimuli aboard the ship to keep the passengers entertained while they slowly died in an eternal abyss of stars. 

Unfortunately, he could only consume so many episodes of Star Trek in total silence before he felt an oncoming existential crisis about watching a space show in space.  

Thankfully, just as he’s considering going into the lab and risking being cursed out in Eridian, a series of clunks from multiple legs echo through the ship. Only… it didn’t sound like it was coming from inside the hamster tunnels running throughout the vessel. Nor was the clunking dulled slightly by a xenonite ball following the demands of five limbs. 

It sounds clearer. Closer. Concerningly faster than the ball as well. 

Grace drops the Comfort Quilt™ from his shoulders and scrambles up from his crossed leg position. He doesn’t even know what he’s bracing for, but what greets him when it stomps into view is not what he’d been expecting in the slightest.

Rocky is encased in xenonite. Not a ball. His body is literally wearing such close-fitting xenonite that it follows every crevice, bump, and grain on his form. 

“Hi, Grace!” He chirrups, sounding utterly exhilarated as he holds up a claw and splits it into the famous Vulcan greeting from Star Trek. “Surprise!” 

Thank god Grace put down his mug of coffee before preparing for a potential ambush, or the inventory would be down a cup. His jaw has long hit the floor in place of ceramic shards, eyebrows high as if pulled by a passing moon’s gravity. “You’re- you made a suit,” he sputters out.

“So Rocky can fix starvation of skin!” Rocky bounces and wiggles in place, the thin xenonite moving with him flexibly. He eagerly reaches out with his two front limbs. “Can hug properly now!” 

Grace stares. His ears heard it, but his brain could not comprehend the development. That being said, his heart definitely could, and it felt full enough to burst. 

He practically dives for Rocky and slams his full weight into him, knees colliding heavily with the floor. Rocky’s three back limbs counterbalance instantly, and the other two wrap tightly around his human. His claws grip into the fabric of Grace’s cardigan and stay there, keeping the man close against his body heat.

After months of being on the ship - technically years, but Grace didn’t count the coma for his own mental health - with absolutely no physical contact from another being bar a ball of xenonite, this hug was everything. 

It was tight, yet not enough for Grace’s deprived body. Every nerve was screaming from overwhelming warmth and pressure, but the idea of letting go only made Grace grip harder. He barely acknowledges he’s sobbing into the top of Rocky’s carapace; he’s too preoccupied trying to convince himself he isn’t dreaming. 

Rocky stays put, soft notes humming out of him in a gentle, soothing coo. He’s seen Grace cry before - that man had earned the title of ‘Leaky Space Blob’ after all - but this is different. It’s relief, it’s despair, it's everything the man has been silently yearning for in the depths of his subconscious. 

Rocky is more than content to stay where he was with Grace practically smothering him from his doubled-over position, all his strings cut and emotions raw. He would stay put for as long as Grace needs. He lifts one of his limbs from the floor and runs it through Grace’s hair. 

He pretends he doesn’t hear the high-pitched, wounded keening that leaves the human in a cathartic, emotional release.

______________________________________________________________

“How did you do this?” Grace asks. “This looks too thin- heck, it feels too thin to be safe for you.”

Rocky chitters, pleased. “Much trials and errors,” he says. “Important. Needed to make.”

Grace tightens his arms around Rocky for a moment before letting him go again. Well, kind of let him go, Rocky is lying over Grace’s legs with the man’s arms draped over his limbs. Yes, he was being a little clingy, but his entire nervous system was recovering from months of neglect. He needs this. 

“It means a lot,” he swallows back tears that threaten to have another revolution and overthrow his ability to see. He’s already shed enough to fill a water bottle or two. 

They’d moved to the dormitory once Grace felt reasonably steady to become a functioning human being again. (For those curious, it took a decent while for that to happen.) Now, he’s lying on his back atop the bedclothes with an Eridian carefully perched on his lower body as a steady source of contact. It seemed the small alien was enjoying the newfound freedom of touch without a ball getting in the way. 

One of Grace’s hands is being diligently studied by the Eridian. “Humans soft.” Rocky remarks, something like awe filtering through his musical tones as he delicately handles Grace’s fingers. “Too easy to damage.”

Grace snorts. “We can’t all be sentient canon balls, Rock.”

“What is ‘canon ball’, question?” 

“Projectiles we have on Earth. It was used in battle.”

“Rocky is terrifying space spider and dangerous ball, question?” 

Grace thinks of when Rocky first barged into the Hail Mary and proceeded to almost cause irreparable property damage to multiple items and devices within the ship. “Yes.” He states with a laugh. “You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

Rocky perks up. “Good reputation to have!” He prods at Grace’s fingers. “Better than leaky, squishy, space blob.” He pokes at the softer skin of the man’s side to further drive his point home.

Grace yips, batting Rocky’s claws away from his torso instinctively. “Hehey!”

Rocky jolts upright, removing himself from Grace’s legs. “Hurt? Grace hurt? Rocky hurt Grace?!” His voice flits up several octaves as he panics, hands tightly curled against his body to keep them far from his friend.

“No. No, no, you didn’t- hey, come back here, you silly goose. Stop freaking out.” Grace grasps one of Rocky’s retreating limbs and gently tugs him forward with an exasperated chuckle.

Rocky hesitantly steps closer, but doesn’t settle back down. Grace’s legs mourn the loss of their weighted blanket. “Grace make hurt noise,” he states. “Make same sound when burnt with solder iron.”

Grace sighs and sinks deeper into his mattress. He didn’t think this would be a topic he’d have to explain to aliens, but here we are.

“Humans have a pretty complex nervous system that has evolved to alert us when we’re in danger, specifically through touch. When you poked me, my body was telling me something was digging into a place where vital organs sit. The noise I made was just a byproduct of that.” 

Rocky considers this explanation, then makes a confused warble. “You laughed afterwards.”

Damn. Grace had been hoping Rocky didn’t catch that. 

“...Yeah.”

“Why, question?” 

“...It’s a human thing.”

“Explain. Grace live on Erid in future, need to know human biology.”

Well, no dodging the question now.

Grace sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It just tickled a bit, that’s all.”

“No understand word.”

Double damn. 

“...Tickling is when humans are touched in a certain way that makes us laugh. It’s attached to the nervous system thing, part of our fight or flight response.”

Rocky tilts his carapace and extends a claw to wiggle against Grace’s side again. The small squeak Grace lets out causes heat to flush his ears. Rocky chirps, delighted. “This make laughter on command!”

Grace opens his mouth to parry that point, only to gasp and fall into bouts of snickers when Rocky’s claws start prodding at his stomach insistently with both claws. “R-Rohohocky!” 

It’s been years, even more than he’s been on the Hail Mary, since he’s felt this sensation. The scuttling, electric sparks spread through his nerves, causing him to flail helplessly. His hands scrabble to both grab onto and bat away Rocky’s curious limbs. Neither tactic got him very far.

“Grace sound very happy,” Rocky informs him. Thank you, Rocky. We’d be lost without your keen observation skills. “Are all humans this sensitive?”

Grace makes a strangled, embarrassed noise in the back of his throat and tries to yank his legs up so he can curl into a ball and hide. 

“No, stay stationary. Rocky is not done exploring this.” Rocky’s claws grab onto Grace’s knees to simply push them away, only for Grace to yelp and kick his legs out. 

“Nononono- Rohohocky c’mohohon!”

Rocky chirps, curiosity singing through his melodic voice. “Tickles happen all over, question?” He inquires, his back hand squeezing Grace’s knee and thigh twice in place of stomping. 

“ROHOHOCK!” The hearty cackles that sprang forth like an exploded fire hydrant were answer enough.

Rocky scuttles and prods over the muscular limbs, little chirps of excitement emanating from the depths of his carapace with every new noise he draws from Grace. Scratching at the underside of the human's knees produced a series of breathy, unstoppable giggles that vividly reminded Rocky of the young Eridians back home with newly developed squeaks perpetrating their vocal cords. 

Rocky relays that thought to Grace, and the temperature of the human’s face increased dramatically. 

“Grace embarrassed, question? Sound cute.” Rocky reassures, wiggling his claws into Grace's lower abdomen. 

A flustered noise left the man, quickly buried behind his arms as he wriggled incessantly from the tickling. “E-Enohohough wihihith- my knees!” He pleads, the feather-light wisps of touch sending his brain into a haywire state of laughter. 

“That okay, plenty more to try!”

Grace feels pressure firmly lay across his legs, keeping them still despite their instinctive desire to kick. Rocky has become essentially deadweight, using his higher body mass to easily pin Grace to the bed. At first, his heartbeat kicked up in learned fear from being pinned down amongst dead grass, but the gentle touches and familiar warmth of the Eridian dashes his anxiety instantly. 

It was kind of hard to focus on the last memory of being pinned whilst Rocky's two front claws had taken to prodding all over the man’s torso. Light and experimental pinches being tossed in just for curiosity's sake. 

“Grace should have informed Rocky of this sooner, could’ve cheered you up easily,” Rocky says, mirth filling his voice as he takes in Grace’s blinding grin, flushed cheeks, and bubbling laughter. He made sure to keep his touch light, not wanting to accidentally hurt his friend; however, in doing so, the tickling was simply more unbearable. 

And as much as Grace's touch-starved body is relishing in this newfound, sorely missed companionship, it’s tiring quickly. 

“R-Rohohock! Plehehease! No- Nohoho mohohore!” Grace wheezes out a laugh before slumping back into the rumpled bedclothes, all fight disappearing and leaving him in a puddle of giggles. 

Rocky chirps, withdrawing his claws from Grace’s stomach. “This hurts, question?” He stomps his back foot into the mattress to punctuate his concern. 

“No, not at all.” Grace drapes an arm over his eyes and takes in grateful gulps of air, the last of his laughter shaking his chest. “Just overwhelming, bud. It’s been a long time.”

“But Grace is okay, question?”

The hollowness is gone. Grace’s cheeks hurt from smiling. He feels good. “Yeah.” The scientist reassures. “Better than okay. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a while.”

“Want me to do again, question?” 

Grace’s arm that’s draped over his eyes shoots down to preemptively cover his stomach, an embarrassed grin spreading across his face. “Uh- no, no, that kind of touch is usually for play. Kinda wanting to get some rest now, Rock.”

Rocky chirps, leaning a bit more into Grace’s chest, akin to a weighted blanket. He wraps his claws underneath Grace in a hug, while one reaches up to scratch through his hair. Grace practically melts, a blissful sigh heaving Rocky up and then down in a slump. 

“Better, question?”

“Yeh, feels n’ce,” Grace slurs out, eyelids long since closed, and wrapping his arms over Rocky’s warm, xenonite-enclosed form. It was like hugging a hot water bottle made of glass. Sleep was sneaking around the corner with a bat and a trip to Night Night Station. 

A claw slips down his scalp, scraping close to the skin of his ear. Grace flinches with a small grunt. The claw pauses.

“Grace is serious? Here as well, question?” The amusement is abundantly obvious. 

“Shut up,” Grace grumbles, gently taking Rocky’s front limb and guiding it back to his hair. 

Rocky chuckles. “Humans are very endearing. Will be doing this again, statement."

Grace rolls his eyes, trying to pretend there wasn’t a blush practically living on his ears now. Rocky let him dodge answering that. After all, he plans to use this newfound information to keep Grace’s spirits up. There would be plenty of time to prove to his friend that humans were loveable space blobs. 

“You sleep, I watch.” He murmurs, carefully scratching the man’s scalp in rhythmic patterns. 

Grace’s fingers intertwine with Rocky’s and squeeze. “Thanks, Rocky. …And thank you for fixing this. You’re a miracle worker.”

“Will always fix for Grace. Grace family, statement.” 

Grace squeezes a bit tighter, hoping Rocky understands the love being projected through the gesture. He pretends his voice isn’t choked up as he whispers, “You’re my family too. Statement.”

Just a mini fic between main stuff. This is a complete lore drop fic really. I've fiddled with this for a bit trying to get it right and this is the best it will be. Had to cut out some ideas but for a mini lore fic, it's perfectly fine.

The fics after this will be more tickle focused so please look forward to that.

---

The air of the underground tunnels was stale and heavy. The feeling of it all was different when it was empty and the bricks cleared of the dead vines. With all of the vines removed, the tunnels became unstable. The tendrils had buried so deep into the stone and some were thicker than  DreamXD’s arm. XD was rebuilding some parts of the wall, just to make sure the tunnels wouldn’t collapse, and all the while keeping one eye on the obsidian wall that covered over the strange moss.

HD’s reaction was still fresh in his mind. The Overworld God had never looked so fearful. He wasn’t just scared, it was pure fear etched on his face. All over moss that XD was sure looked familiar but he couldn’t place it.

Well he’d get his answers.

The air crackled with energy. The purple swirl of a nether portal appeared and GeorgeHD and Sapnap4K stepped out.

HD still looked worried. 4K’s face was a mix of sceptical and dread. His eyes caught onto the obsidian and his face pulled to an uneasy frown.

“There?” He asked.

“Yes.” HD’s reply was quick. They both approached the dark purple wall like it was ready to explode at any moment. HD waved his hand, the blocks fell away and the moss was still there, pulsing in the darkness.

“Oh...” 4K’s voice sounded broken. “You were right...shit...”

“Did you think I would lie about this?!” HD sounded offended.

“No! I was just hoping you were wrong!”

“What is it?”

XD’s question broke whatever frustration had come over them. It was like they remembered XD was there. Both God’s looked at each other then 4K turned back to XD and spoke. “It’s called skulk...”

“Oh.” It all clicked for XD. “The stuff from the Warden War.”

The words flashed over each God differently. 4K visibly flinched as though the words would hit him. HD’s eyes widened and it took a moment before he blinked again.

“Y-Yes... How did you—Did Prime tell you about the Warden War?”

“Only some parts.” XD admitted. “Prime said there was a great catastrophe that changed the world but never went into detail. The Endless Library had books on it that I would study.” Now their reactions made sense, but XD was still puzzled and peered at the skulk again. “This skulk won’t spread.”

The older Gods looked immediately doubtful to XD’s claims, but were polite about it when HD calmed asked. “How do you know?”

XD pulled into long deep memories. A time before Dream and before the End was so quiet. Desperate to be loved by his people, he spent weeks in the Endless Library studying their history. “It is not glowing bright enough. Skulk spreads with exp. If it does not have enough to grow it becomes duller.”

“You’re sure of that?” HD asked.

“It is the truth.” XD felt suddenly defensive he was being doubted but his annoyance faded to the looks on their faces. When XD was studying the history, even the kind teachers did not wish to discuss the war. It was fresh and painful so XD studied alone. Now majority of the people who were in the war were long passed and it was never a thought to XD. But HD and 4K would have been there. They lived through the war but their days in it would have been in fear of this skulk spreading and creating more Wardens.

“I will prove it.”

XD walked boldly to the skulk, reached out and touched it. HD was quick to his side and pulled his hand away but his skin had already made contact. Some of the moss stuck to the warmth of XD’s skin but it didn’t spread. Instead it slowly crumbled off like dried dust. Another sign it was close to death as the moss of skulk was normally soft.

“Don’t ever fucking do that again!” 4K snapped in a tone so unlike him. He had come to XD’s side as well, his hands warm on XD’s arms but his words harsh. “You scared us half to death!”

“There is nothing to fear. It is dormant.”

“But why is it here?” HD hissed. Even with proof of the skulk’s state he was still looking at it as though a monster could spring to life from it at any moment. “There shouldn’t be any left. After the war we cleared it all.”

“We can follow the trail and see where it goes. Maybe there is a source.” XD suggested.

The idea made sense though HD and 4K grumbled their agreement. XD felt offended he was lead back from the skulk corner and 4K kept a steady grip on his arms while HD carefully cleared away the wall.

The moss went much deeper than any of them thought. HD had already cleared a pathway about six feet into the wall and as the blocks lifted the skulk crackled and easy broke away. When the skulk started growing downwards, it became firmer and harder to unstick from the blocks. Carefully, HD cleared another three feet of blocks from the ground, dug out to make a small ditch, and they came across something unusual.

A yellowing block of uneven stone with the skulk over the top of it. The source.

HD didn’t look fearful anymore. Now he looked mad. “This was deliberate. This was placed!”

His concern for the skulk was gone as he grabbed the strange block and lifted it. It was just about the size of a pumpkin, or maybe a little bigger.

“What is it?” XD asked.

“A catalyst.” 4K answered. “It’s like...a source block for the skulk. It spreads out if it gets exp. If it gets enough it just starts spreading on it’s own.”

XD studied the block but could not remember it in his reading. Surely the books wouldn’t have left out an important detail, and put it down to him missing it somehow. “Well... It didn’t spread, so it didn’t have enough exp then.” He theorised.

“But it did.” HD pointed to the skulk in the small ditch. “It did! Enough to spread out this far. Something was being fed to it to give it exp.”

The thought was chilling and horrifying. Especially when the moss was growing so close to the chamber, where the Eggs feeding chamber lay. Was everyone accounted for when they were rescued?

XD couldn’t let his thoughts grow too far. “What if...what if something was fed to it before and then it was placed and started growing?”

4K looked thoughtful. “It’s a possibility...”

“It doesn’t matter!” HD cut in. “Whether something was fed to it before or continuously, it doesn’t matter.” HD shook the catalyst in his hand and looked to 4K. “We destroyed these. All of them! It took years but we destroyed every single one of them. Now one of them is here.”

“So someone is making them.” 4K finished.

“Not someone. Something! They’re back!”

“Don’t! HD... Don’t say that!”

“The evidence is quite clear 4K! They survived! They’re back!” HD snapped his attention to XD. “What did the books say happened at the end? When the war was over, what happened?”

The concern for HD made XD’s memories panic. He quickly ran through everything he could remember. “It...the Wardens were growing weaker. They couldn’t get enough exp to live and began to starve. They died out.”

HD and 4K looked between one another, with the thought passing between them clear as day.

“That was a lie?” XD asked.

“It’s not entirely wrong.” 4K admitted. He had looked uncomfortable the moment he saw the moss and now it was like his skin was constantly crawling. He scratched at his hand or face and his tail would whip behind him every few seconds.

“Then what happened?”

“They did grow weaker.” HD explained. “The Wardens worked as a hive mind. They were supposed to act for the skulk, growing it further and bringing exp to feed into it. But the Wardens also needed exp. Their gluttony fought with the hive orders, and couldn’t bring enough exp to sustain the skulk. The skulk lost power to grow and make Wardens. The Wardens lost connection to the hive mind. They were uncoordinated but still dangerous. To organise a mission to kill every single one of them would have been too dangerous.”

“So...they live?”

“An idea was called...” 4K took over. “That if we couldn’t kill them they would be...locked away.”

“Locked away?” XD’s ears twitched in his confusion. “Where?”

“There are cities hidden deep underground the Overworld. They were there long before my time. Maybe even before Prime. They were the first to be overrun with skulk and the Wardens. When we had confirmation every catalyst was cleared out, we would lock them down into the deep underground cities and let them starve themselves.” HD explained.

“Not all agreed...” 4K mumbled.

“It was voted on and decided!” HD defended. “The war was over! To lose any more people killing those things would have been wasteful. We’d already lost so much. It won the vote and I gathered every Warden from every Realm and I locked them away underground. They’d kill each other and the ones left would starve. It kept people safe!”

The silence that followed was tense. 4K and HD refused to look at each other.

“Okay... Well... Maybe they did die. Or maybe they did not.” XD cleared their throat. “But whatever happened to them, this...catalyst? It’s here now. And if you say all of them were destroyed then someone had made more.”

It brought the tension back down from the room, but it was no less troubling to think about.

“Can Wardens make these things?” XD asked.

“Not on their own. Without the hive the Warden’s only thought is consuming to survive. They were supposed to bring exp to catalysts to keep them going. If they’re all destroyed it would take... Prime, I don’t know...a lot of exp to make one.”

“So either, they weren’t destroyed, or someone coordinated enough exp to make one from the skulk.” XD reason. His mind flicked through possibilities and memories of his reading when the skulk pulsed again, and a memory struck XD. “Oh shit...”

“What?” 4K asked.

“The moss—Skulk! I’ve seen it before. It was found at the prison. In Dream’s cell and through the walls.”

“In the prison?!” HD blinked. “That... Is that how Dream escaped?”

“He said it was through the moss. He said someone contacted him and he escaped through a strange moss. I never put it together!”

Connections quickly lined up in XD’s head, overwhelming and stunning him. The moss at the prison leading to Dream’s cell. Dream spoke about someone talking to him through the revive book. ‘Friend’ he called it. It never clicked to XD the moss could have ever been skulk, or that it could ever be used in such a way.

“Dream said he travelled through the moss. Is that possible?”

HD and 4K shared a look between one another. “That’s never been a thing before...” 4K mumbled, and immediately regretted it when XD’s face twisted in worry.

“Even if it wasn’t, Dream’s fine. He’s not infected with anything.” HD quickly assured him. “But if someone contacted him and is using the skulk, then that someone probably made...this.” HD held forward the catalyst again. It pulsed it’s eery glow again and again.

“He said...this friend contacted them through the revive book.” XD gave a look to 4K.

The Nether God quickly pulled the book from the jacket. “This? I thought...there shouldn’t be any way to contact someone through this.”

“Dream said the person was dead but...not dead like gone. I’m not sure if he meant it was a ghost but he said they contacted back and forth with the book.”

The God’s shared another look. 4K looked almost distraught but HD was trying to keep his face calm.

“Before we get out of control with theories, we need a plan.” HD’s voice was calm now. “Firstly, we need this taken care of.” He motioned to the catalyst. “I will speak with...uh, the prison guard. They might have found another catalyst.” He looked to XD. “If you can talk to Dream and get any info about this friend we can work from there. If this person speaks through the book then 4K can keep an eye on it. It might try to reach out to Dream again.”

It was a shaky start to plan, but it was the only one they had for now. XD was not looking forward to the talk with Dream again. He was so resistant to speaking before and after everything he couldn’t really gauge where his brother was in his moods. But not speaking to Dream directly lead to a lot of trouble before, so it had to be this way now.

“First let’s clear up this skulk.” XD suggested. A mindless numbing task was just what he needed. “I know it needs the catalyst to spread but just to be sure we should make sure it’s gone.”

They agreed and XD first got to work, going into the dug out tunnel HD had cleared and started pulling off the moss. It fell apart in his hands and turned to dust, so it would be a fast clean up.

HD and 4K didn’t join at first. They held back and while XD didn’t mean to listen in, his ear twitched to their words and he couldn’t help it.

“If Dream said they spoke to them through the book, it might be him...” 4K spoke so hushed and softly and desperately.

“We don’t know for sure.” HD replied back just as softly.

XD resisted the urge to turn around and just listened again.

“But it could be.” 4K’s voice almost broke.

“I know. Believe me, 4K, I want it to be him as well but you can’t get your hopes up.”

XD thought back to the flickering light that lead him to the moss. Not just a light, but it was the shape of a person. It knew XD was staring at it and it pointed right to the moss.