I like to believe that the first time Grace knowingly and willingly lets himself be small around another person is when he and Carl were at the hardware store. Like, he'd been feeling a bit fuzzy already, getting frustrated and bummed out by the lack of progress with the astrophage when he's fascinated and wants to help. There's also not any of his fidgets around, and it's weird to be somewhere other than home or school. It's so exciting to be in a lab again, but he's rather dysregulated.
So he starts pestering Carl. And not only does Carl let him bounce thoughts off him, but offers the sort of perspective that comes from someone who doesn't know the topic well and therefore has fresh ideas. And then he's driving him to the store, and saying they can get whatever they need to make this very exciting science experiment. Which, oh man, is gonna be *awesome*.
So Grace, hyped up on too little sleep, the thrill of science, and a burgeoning friendship, is starting to slip a little. Is starting to act more childlike than is ignorable. And he's trying to reel it in, but it's Carl's *job* to be perceptive. He doesn't know what's Up with Grace, but it's rather endearing, and he joins in. And he's having *fun*. And Grace is mildly flabbergasted because people are usually put off when he starts acting smaller, but Carl indulges him. He likes his juggling, he pretends the cart is a basketball hoop, he does the form and everything when Ryland sets up aluminum foil boxes as bowling pins. He *plays* with him!!! And Ryland is buzzing with energy because oh god his voice is sounding a bit off, and he's giggling, and is Carl going to notice and think he's weird? But he's having so much fun!!
At the checkout, he can't help but stare longingly at the candy. He grabs one and just looks at Carl because he can't work up the courage to ask out loud. And Carl easily accepts it. Tells him to get more. Piles the packages up on the counter. Gives him a twizzler while the checkout lady is still scanning their items, and lets him stand on the cart all the way to the car. Claps him on the shoulder once they get the last sheet of plywood loaded up and tells him to watch out but still laughs when he rides the shopping cart like a scooter to put it in the corral. Ryland sits in the back of the car again because even though he's pretty sure Carl isn't a personal chauffeur, that's where he puts him, and he immediately breaks into the skittles as he starts babbling about how they'll put the box together and how he's going to trick the astrophage into seeing "venus".
Carl listens, makes comments where appropriate, and asks the exact right questions to get Grace even more excited to tell him all about the science. He keeps wordlessly reaching his hand around his seat for Ryland to load it up with skittles, and doesn't make fun of his infodumping when the kid finally wears himself out and they spend the last of the ride just quietly listening to music, eating candy.
Grace thinks maybe... *maybe* he just found someone who doesn't mind the smaller side of him.
