JunimoTardis

I sat back on the warm sand and watched Grace try to convince Simon to get in the water. It was really a perfect temperature—Grace had insisted on a summer day that was just warm enough to go in the water, but not hot enough to make us break a sweat. It was soothing and I felt the urge to fall asleep.

Grace and Simon headed towards the water. They had both stripped down to their boxers to serve as swimsuits. 

Grace splashed some water on Simon's calves. "See? No blood, it's not scary," he grinned. 

Simon had a death grip on Grace's shoulder. His gills rippled slightly across his ribcage at the sight of the water washing over his feet and ankles. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's not very deep either. I can teach you to swim, too," Grace said. He was already bounding and splashing deeper into the water, giggling and whooping like a kid. 

Simon stood at the waterline anxiously, testing his weight from one foot to the other as his toes sunk into the wet sand. He let Grace take his hand and lead him deeper. 

I watched Simon smile and relax a bit when the water lapped at his waist. I heard him say something about how nice the water was. They both looked back at me and I waved. 

I saw Grace murmur something to Simon and then he was out of the water and heading towards me. Water ran down his legs and left a trail in the sand.

"You sure I can't convince you to join us?" Grace asked. 

"I don't have a bathing suit," I said. "S'not like I can just… strip down to my underwear like you guys."

Grace made big, wet puppy eyes at me. I groaned and looked away.

"Okay, fine," he relented. 

We heard a high-pitched yelp just as Grace was about to turn around. We both sat up and saw Simon slip under a wave, submerging him completely. Grace started to rush back to the water. 

Grace splashed through the shallows looking for Simon. I got up too, the water lapping at my ankles. "Simon? Simon!" we called. 

Grace and I exchanged a worried glance as everything went quiet on the beach. Even the waves seemed to be still. 

"Simon?" 

We heard a great, heaving sound as the water seemed to lift itself up over a great…big…

Simon?

Simon was suddenly gigantic, roughly proportional to the size of the body of water he was in, such that our artificial "sea" looked it was jacuzzi-sized with him in it.

"What the fuhhhh—fudge?" Grace exclaimed.

"Guys? I don't- I don't know what's happening to me," Simon said. He sounded stressed, but slightly amazed at his new form. "I have a- a tail?"

A long, thick mermaid tail flicked across the surface, spraying us with a fine mist of seawater. It had fins and scales and it caught the light to refract rainbows across the beach.

"Wow, Simon, you're so…" Grace exhaled.

"…Beautiful," I finished, my mouth open in awe. 

"Stop," Simon whined, cheeks flushed, and the sound echoed throughout the beach. He immediately slapped his hand over his lips. "Why am I so loud?" He mumbled.

"You're big, buddy," Grace chuckled. He reached his arms up and made grabby hands at Simon. "Pick me up."

Simon gently picked Grace up. I could tell he was being extremely careful. "I don't wanna hurt you," Simon mumbled sadly around the long canines that had grown with his transformation. 

"Hey, big guy," Grace said in the sweetest, softest voice I'd ever heard from him. Simon lifted him closer to his face and Grace placed a hand on Simon's much larger cheek. "You're not gonna hurt me. Worst case scenario, you drop me and the water will break my fall."

Simon, placated, glanced across the beach again, his oversized brown eyes landing on me. He brought his hand down to the shore—with Grace still on it, who chuckled and fell back to sit criss-cross-applesauce on Simon's palm—to scoop me up. I yelped and fell into Grace's shoulder as Simon brought us up to his level. 

I clung to Simon's thumb and avoided looking down. "I know Grace said it wouldn't be a big deal if he fell into the water but don't you dare drop me," I said sternly. 

Simon chuckled, the sound shaking through our bones. "I won't."

Grace stood up on Simon's hand and jumped off the edge, tucking his knees to his chest and shouting "Cannonball!" like a little kid. The impact of his jump splashed up around me. I grinned and watched him thrash about in the water before hopping onto the part Simon's tail that was sitting above the surface. 

"Si, this tail might be the coolest thing I've ever seen," Grace said, running a finger across the shiny scales. 

"It's not, I'm just—I'm a bit of a monster," Simon mumbled, looking sheepish. 

"No way," I spoke up. "You're like a fish."

"Maybe that should be your last name!" Grace exclaimed. "Since you don't have one."

"No fucking way," Simon growled, the end of his tail slapping against the water and spraying Grace. 

"Simon Fischer?" I chuckled. "Simon Fisherman, or maybe Fishman—"

"Simon the Fish!" Grace interrupted me between raucous giggles. 

"Both of you shush," Simon hissed. 

"Whatcha gonna do about it, Fishboy?" Grace wheezed.

Simon made a growly noise and then moved his hand down, holding me dangerously close to the water. He switched his grip so that he was holding me between his thumb and forefinger. 

I shrieked. "Si! Wait, don't—I'm sohohorry!"

He lowered me further so that my ankles were submerged. I yelped. "Sorry for what?" Simon rumbled.

"Come ohon! I'm sorry for calling you a fish—Don't get me wet, I'm fully dressed…literally do anything else—"

"Anything?" Simon raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, I just don't wanna get wet—"

"Okay," Simon said cheerfully, scooping me back up into his open palm. I huffed and puffed, catching my breath as he smiled down at me. 

There was a brief silence. "What?" I asked nervously. 

"You should save your breath," Simon smiled, his canines poking out over his lips again adorably. 

Grace chuckled. "Uh oh, someone's in trouble…"

"I- wahait! How come Grace isn't getting punished for any of this—" I started giggling as his large thumb prodded carefully at my tummy. 

"Because you've needed to loosen up all day," Simon smirked. "Wouldn't get in the water with us."

"It's nohohot my fault! I can't just—"

"Didn't I say you should probably save your breath?" Simon chided. 

I curled up in Simon's palm as he relentlessly poked across my torso. His fingers were large enough to keep my arms mostly out of the way. 

"N-ahaha- Simon! Dohon't, I'm sorry—"

"Sorry for what?" 

"Mahahaking fun of yohohou…"

Simon shrugged. "Oh, I forgive you for that."

"So STOHOHOP!"

"Nah, this is fun," he grinned. He changed the angle of his thumb so that he could run his fingernail up and down my ribcage, managing to pluck each rib gently along the way. I shrieked and thrashed uselessly in his grip. 

"You're squirming too much," Simon complained. He curled the rest of his fingers up to the artificial sky to make a protective fence of sorts. "You're gonna roll right off my hand."

"S'not my FUCKING fault!" I screeched, pushing uselessly at his finger, but he was too big to throw off.

"Woah woah woah," Grace said exaggeratedly from below. "Are you just going to let that language fly, Simon?"

"Course not," Simon muttered. "It's gonna be hard to give a proper punishment with only one hand, but…" 

My eyes were blurry from tears of laughter, but I saw him squint in concentration. He brought his thumb and pinky finger around my body and closed them together at the muscle just above my knee. 

Then, he squeezed.

I screamed with laughter, my other leg kicking helplessly. "SIHIMON!" 

"That's my name," he said smugly. He pulsed his fingers at a faster rhythm.

"Ohoho, there we go," Grace chuckled adoringly from his perch on Simon's tail. 

I slapped twice desperately at Simon's open palm, wheezing with leftover giggles as he stopped tickling me. He gently lowered me back to the shore and Grace swam back out to meet me. 

Grace stumbled out of the waves and threw his wet body across me, tasering me in the sides. He laughed when I squealed and pushed him away. 

"Ugh, Grace, I was wearing white!" I protested, covering my now see-through shirt with my arms. 

"Sorry not sorry," Grace laughed and tossed a towel at me. "Couldn't just let Simon have all the fun."

Simon dragged himself into the shallows, upending a ridiculous amount of water over the sand. Grace stretched up comically to the full length of his height and patted Simon's gills dry with a towel. As the gills dried, Simon slowly shrank in size and his mermaid tail transformed smoothly into human legs. Simon sank peacefully into the water from the hips down.

"Uh… Grace?"

"What's up, big guy?"

"I think my shorts ripped and came off when I transformed."

Grace's face turned beet red and I had to hold back my laughter. "Oh!" He exclaimed. "Um, not to worry! I, uh, I got it, here, I'll just—"

I watched as Grace awkwardly try to help Simon wrap himself in a towel while also looking straight up at the artificial sky. Simon tied the towel loosely, just at the end of his happy trail, and Grace choked on his own breath. 

I mean, it's not like I wasn't looking either. Just saying.

"Let's get our fish boy home, hm?" I said, patting Grace on the shoulder lightly. 

"Yeah—um. Yeah," Grace stuttered. 

The three of us ambled up the path back to the house. 

"Still not into the 'fish boy' thing," Simon grumbled. 

"Too bad, I think it stuck," I teased back. 

"We need to see about getting you a proper swimsuit," Grace thought out loud. "I'll ask Adrian."

Simon grinned suddenly. "Yeah, we want you swimming with the fishes," he said. He looked terribly pleased at his own pun. 

I giggled despite myself. Grace shook his head.

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Grace was a very touched starved person. Spending all this time in space with no other humans around, it could take its tole on you. Especially when you're only friend was a alien. Grace would always push past his feelings about it. It felt silly to him. A grown ass man getting upset about not getting a hug every now and then. Its not like he got many hugs back on earth, the occasional hug from his students, but nothing much. So why was it bothering him now?

Rocky didn't understand that feeling of being touch starved. It was something he never experienced, even when floating in space alone for 46 years. But he always did try to make Grace feel better, He was his best friend after all. When he was only confined to his xenonite ball, he would try his best to show as much affection as possible when Grace hugged him. And as much as Grace appreciated Rocky's efforts, it was never enough for Grace unfortunately, it didn't feel the same when you were hugging a massive ball.

Grace was sitting on the steps of his biodome home, ig had only been months since he forst got here. He was thankful for everything the Eridians gave him. Making him food he could eat, building this home for him, accepting him with open arms. He was looking out at the beach not to far from the biodome. Grace didn't notice it at first, but he heard something, not the usual bulky rolling from rockys xenonite ball, but a soft patter along the sand. Grace looked up, and he Froze. Here was Rocky, running along the beach, not in his ball, but in what looked like a new suit. "Grace! Grace! Rocky make new suit!"

Grace stood frozen, even when Rocky landed at his feet. "Grace like new suit, question?" The suit was tighter, no longer a ball, but hugged Rocky's frame perfectly so be could move around better. But moat of all, he could touch things. The words stuck in Grace's throat as he slowly lowered himself to his knees. Rocky crawled forward. "Grace upset he couldn't touch Rocky. Rocky fix." Grace sucked in air quickly before it got stuck in his throat again. He lifted his arms shakily. Rocky knew almost immediately what Grace wanted and crawled closer, wrapping his two front limbs around Grace tightly. The moment Grace felt that connection, he sniffled, burying his face into Rockys carapace. "Why Grace leaking question? Does Grace not like new suit?" "No, no I do..." Grace let out a watery chuckle. "I'm just happy..." He wiped his eyes. "Humans strange. Leak when sad and happy..." Grace chuckled again. "Yeah... we are..." They stayed like that for a long while. Grace didn't want to let go, neither did Rocky but the looks of it. Seemed like they were both clingy. Grace wanted to take in as much affection as possible. Not wanting to miss out on it again.

"Rocky want to get closer!" Rocky suddenly chirped "Huh? What? Rocky! You're knocking me over!" Grace laughed as he was knocked onto his back. "Wha- what are you doing?!" Grace laughed harder as Rocky started to try worm his way under his sweater. "Rocky getting closer!" "Careful- hey! Cohome ohohon! That tickles!" Grace could feel Rocky's hands press and squeeze into his sides, ribs and stomach. "Rohohocky!" "Oh yes, Rocky forget Grace is sensitive." But even as Rocky said it, Grace could swear he could hear a hint of teasing in Rocky’s voice. "Then stohohop ihit!" Grace exclaimed. "Rocky trying to get comfortable." "My ass!" Rocky was totally doing this on purpose. Wiggling around and digging his crawls into Grace's sides. "Grace squishy. New food helping." "Shuhuhut up!" "Grace so mean to Rocky. Rocky only want to hug." "IhIhI swear tohoho god, roHOHOHOCK! NOHOT THEHEHEHERE!

Grace shrieked when Rockys claws slipped down to his lower stomach as he tried to push his way up further into his sweater. Grace tried to arch his back as he practically squealed. But Rocky's weight held him down. "ROHOCK COHOHOME OHON!" Grace cried out. This felt so stupid. "Grace so mean to Rocky!" "IHIM NOHOT BEHEHEING MEHEHEAN!" Grace kicked and yelped out in protest. "Liar! Grace so mean mean mean to Rocky! Told me to be quiet!" One of Rockys back legs stomped down as he spoke, poking Grace's hips. "Grace apologise now, statement!" Grace realised how stuck he really was, Rocky was under his sweater. He couldn't exactly reach to stop those tickling limbs, and somehow, that made it feel so much worse. When the Eridian got no response other than squeales and laughter, he brought two claws down onto Grace's hips in a drilling motion. "ROHOHOCKY!" Grace thrashed hard, or as much as he could with the weight on top of him. "Grace apologise!" Rocky pushed stubbornly. He was not stopping until he got what he wanted.

"IHIHIM SOHOHORRY!" Grace hadn't realised how red his face must've been. He thanked the stars Rocky couldn't see it either. The moment the apology left his lips, Rocky stopped. Grace lay on the steps panting. "Ahand I'm the mehean one..." Grace countered as he sucked in air. Resting his hand were he could feel the Eridian in his sweater. Rocky started to wiggle again and Grace tensed for more tickles. But none came. What did however was Rocky's head. (Or what would be a head.) Poking out from the neck hole in Grace's sweater. Grace laughed again at how silly it was.

"You're so dumb..." Grace shook his head with a forced smile. Rocky let out a delighted noise, finally going still. "Grace wanted hugs. Rocky fix." Grace huffed. This was going to be a common thing. He could tell. He should expect more hugs, but even more stretched sweaters.

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Fic inspired slightly by the art above which belongs to @blitzzeri 💙

I know its short but I'm on vacation and wanted to get SOMETHING out before I start my requests when I go home. 🙏

Also writing on my phone is ass ✌️

“Calm! Simon dramatic.”

Simon huffed softly. “Well you sounded panicked. You can’t do that and expect me to not freak out a little bit.”

“Dramatic,” Rocky repeated.

Simon dragged his hand—his real one—down his face, his words muffled slightly. “Okay, what’s the matter?” he asked through a sigh.

“Grace being stupid. Grumpy. Angry. Mostly stupid.”

“Are you just wanting to insult him or is there a real problem here?”

“Not sleep! Stupid because no sleep! Rocky no can convince. Simon Grace mate, so Simon convince!” Rocky explained.

“Is he ever gonna learn to go to s— Wait. Mate? Rocky, he— He’s not my mate.”

“Mate. Simon Grace in denial.”

“I’m gonna mute your translator.”

“Again. Dramatic. Go get Grace sleep!”

“Fine. Just— drop the mate shit, okay? We’re just friends,” Simon tried again. 

“Denial!” Rocky said as he scurried away. 

Simon sighed. It’d taken a while for Simon and Grace’s interactions to not be awkward anymore, even longer for them to actually become friends. He didn’t want Rocky to ruin that with all his ‘mate’ talk. It’s not like he hadn’t… considered it before. But there were far too many risks there. If anything went wrong… Well, they were stuck on a small ship with a blunt alien who wouldn’t make things any easier. 

Sure, he caught Grace staring sometimes, but that was just because he was a scientist. Of course Simon was interesting to him with all his… mutations. And the times he sought out Simon to talk or hang out was just because they were friends, and Grace hadn’t had any human contact in who-knows-how-long. The times Grace comforted and held Simon after his nightmares? That was just Grace being Grace. He wouldn’t just let someone suffer without trying to comfort them.

So yeah. It was too risky to consider something that was so likely to go wrong.

He headed to the lab, where Grace was hunched over a microscope. Even with the discovery of… whatever it was that killed and threatened stars (Astro something?) and its predator (some kind of amoeba), they still fascinated Grace to an extreme amount. He was constantly studying it, and it was cute how invested he was.

Wait. Cute? No, not cute. Just… Never mind.

“Rocky’s on my ass about getting you to bed. When was the last time you slept?” Simon asked, his arms crossed as he leaned back against the table.

“Uh… It hasn’t been too long,” Grace answered. He looked up from the microscope, meeting Simon’s eyes with a smile. The smile he always gave when he talked with Simon, the one he loved to see.

Simon raised a brow, giving him a look that screamed ‘Really?’.

Grace cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, fine. …About three days?”

“Uh— Three days?? We went to bed at the same time the past two nights. The fuck did you do, wait till I fell asleep then snuck out?”

Grace gave his own look, one that very sheepishly said ‘Maybe?’. 

Simon huffed through his nose softly, shaking his head. “Alright, c’mon,” he said as he walked by Grace and grabbed his arm to pull him away.

“Si! I’m close to another breakthrough!” Grace nearly whined.

“You always say that.”

Grace pulled his arm out of Simon’s grip. “I’m fine, I’m a fully grown adult—”

“Okay, then act like one and go to sleep at a decent fuckin’ time, and maybe I wouldn’t have to drag your ass to bed every night.” Even as he berated him, concern laced his voice through the growl in his voice.

“Simon, really. I’ll live.” Grace sat down in his chair, taking his glasses off and hooking them onto his shirt.

“Simon says.”

Grace snickered, “Simon, that’s not how it works.”

Ever since Grace had told Simon about the game ‘Simon Says’ from back on Earth… Yeah, Simon abused it often. How could he not? There was a whole game centered around doing what he said!

“Simon says it is.”

“Well, Grace says it isn’t. And Grace also says that he gets more time to study the Taumoeba.”

“It’s not called ‘Grace Says’. And the tow-moeba will be there in the morning.”

“Taumoeba. I’m not going to sleep yet,” he said as he turned around in his chair.

“...I’ll make you a deal.”

That got Grace’s attention, and after a moment, he swiveled right back around. “I’m listening.”

“I’m liking this Simon Says thing—”

“Really? I never would’ve guessed.”

“Shut up. It’s funny. So… We’ll keep it nice and simple. We’ll play a round. You win, I’ll let you work till you drop. You lose, and you go to bed. Deal?”

Grace raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? What’s the catch?”

Simon could barely keep the smirk off of his face as he held up his hands. “No catch. I swear.”

“...Okay. Deal.”

“Perfect.” 

In all honesty, this probably wasn’t the best idea on Simon’s part. He knew the basic premise of the game, of course. But he’d only learned it a few days ago. He didn’t know if there were specific strategies or ways to throw Grace off. Meanwhile, Grace had several years of playing this game. …Maybe? He didn’t actually know how often people played it. Was it just children? Or was it a sport? Either way, his point still stood; Grace was much more familiar with this game than Simon was, so logically, this wasn’t the best idea.

However… Simon was, unbeknownst to Grace, giving himself an advantage.

“Simon says… Stand up.”

Grace stood up, his hands in his pockets. “You’re gonna make me humiliate myself.” It wasn’t even a question.

A small smirk crept onto Simon’s face. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t not say it.”

Simon shrugged slightly. “Raise your right hand.”

Grace didn’t move a muscle.

“Simon says… Do a handstand.” The idea was random, but he had to give Grace the illusion of this being normal.

“A handstand?? Simon, do you want me to die??”

Simon just shrugged again with a smug grin. “I mean, you can always just give up so we can go to bed…”

Grace gave him a dead-pan look. But he placed his glasses on the table and stretched out his arms, hyping himself up. Simon was doing his best not to laugh, though he was truthfully ready to catch or steady Grace… just in case. 

Grace raised his hands and flipped into a handstand, actually managing to stick it for a few seconds. His shirt fell down to his shoulders, and Simon’s eyes widened slightly. He forced himself to look away from any exposed skin—he wasn’t a creep. He cleared his throat, ignoring the sudden warmth on his face. But then Grace began tilting forward slightly, trying to walk on his hands to keep himself upright.

“Shit!” Simon stepped forward and grabbed Grace’s legs. He chuckled as he helped get Grace’s feet back down on the ground and grabbed his arm to hoist him up. “Didn’t even last four seconds.”

“Shut up, that wasn’t voluntary!” Grace shoved Simon paired with laughter of his own.

“Woah, Simon never said to shove!”

“That’s not how it works!”

“Fine, fine. …Simon says lay down.” Finally his plan was going into action.

“Uh… weird, but okay.” Grace laid down on the ground with his hands folded over his stomach.

Simon’s laughter had faded, his smirk returning and taking over. “Simon says put your arms above your head.”

Grace seemed confused, but reluctantly followed directions.

“Now, Simon says keep ‘em up there.”

“This better not be what I think it is. …Simon, do not!” Giggles already began spilling from Grace’s lips just from Simon taking a knee next to him.

“What?? I haven’t even dohohohone anything!” Simon chuckled.

“Yet!”

“Hey, you can always just put your arms down so we can go to bed.” Simon grinned as he straddled Grace’s hips. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was damn proud of himself for this idea.

“...You suck.”

“What was that?” he asked, reaching out to run his nails up and down Grace’s side. He let out a squeak and tried to curl his body away without moving his arms, burying his face into his right one.

“Sihihihihimon! This isn’t— fahahahahahahair!”

“Seems pretty fair to me. You agreed to play.”

“You sahHAHAID— thahahahat thehehehere WAHAHAhahsn’t a cahahahahahahatch!!”

“Yeah… I lied,” Simon said without even a hint of shame in his voice. How could he feel bad when Grace just looked so damn cute? 

“Yohohohohou SOHOHOhohon of a bihihiscuihihihihit!!”

“Language, Angel,” Simon chuckled, knowing damn well he was being a hypocrite.

“You— Yohohohohou say thehehehehe f-wohohohohord— EHEHEHEHEVERY HOHOHOHOHOUR!” Grace squealed and arched his back as Simon buried his very bearded face into Grace’s tummy and blew a raspberry right below his belly button. Grace was holding onto his blond hair, tugging it in his attempt to keep his arms up.

“Don’t rip your hair out,” Simon chuckled as he sat back up.

“Dohohon’t— act like ihihihihihit’s not yohohohohohour fault!” Grace retorted through residual giggles.

“My fault? You’re the one who agreed to play the game. And right now, Simon says keep your arms up. Simon also says… don’t laugh.”

“What!? Si—” Grace shut his mouth immediately when Simon began drawing slow, torturous circles in the scientist’s armpits. Simon watched as Grace buried his face into the side of his arm in an attempt to muffle any giggles.

“Remember what happens if you lose,” Simon teased with a smile, laughing when Grace squealed behind closed lips because he was now tickling along the blond’s neck. He could feel Grace’s feet pounding against the ground underneath him, which did nothing in his favor.

When one hand scratched behind his ear with the other one scratching at his tummy, he finally dropped his arms and started trying to push Simon off. “OKAHAHAHAHAY o— ohKAHAHAHAHAHAY! I GIHIHIHIHIHIVE UHUHUHUHUP— SIHIHIHIHMohohoHOHON!!”

“I dunno… I think I gotta make sure you’re fully tuckered out.” Simon grinned, reaching back and squeezing up and down Grace’s thighs. Grace squealed once more, grabbing onto Simon’s legs while his own thrashed and kicked.

“Geez, Ryland, nearly kicked me!”

“IHIHIHIHIHIHI’M— sohohoHOHOHORRYHYHYHYHY!!”

“Nope, that’s a punishable offense. And you, Sir Savior… have been sentenced to more raspberries,” he said gravely, as though he’d just condemned Grace to death. He began slowly, oh-so-slowly, leaning downwards.

“NO! No no no Sihihihihihi— we can talk ahahahahabout— THIHIHIHIHISAHAHAHA SIHIHIHIMOHOHOHON—!” 

Simon’s face was currently buried into the side of Grace’s neck, his own face a bit hot from the proximity. 

C’mon, Butcher, get a grip. You’re just tickling him, get your mind out of the gutter.

If Grace had the same thoughts, he was far too preoccupied with the raspberries Simon was blowing over and over again. The side of his neck, the back of his ear, his shoulders, his collarbone, making sure to use his beard to contribute. Grace was shrieking and laughing, back arching as he held onto Simon’s shoulders.

Simon gave him a final raspberry on the inside of Grace’s collarbone before finally pulling away slightly—the sight made him melt. Grace’s hair and shirt were disheveled, his face red and his eyes closed as he took in air through residual giggles. 

“You okay, Angel?” Simon asked, his voice softer.

“Y— Yeheheheah…” Grace giggled, opening his eyes to look up at Simon. …Which was when Simon realized he was probably a little too close. They gazed at each other in flustered shock before Simon cleared his throat and sat up fully.

“Good. That’s— Good. C’mon, it’s time to get you in bed.” Simon stood up, crossing his arms as he smiled fondly down at Grace.

“Nooooo…” Grace rubbed his face, yawning.

Simon chuckled. “Seems like the tickling did a good job of tiring you out, huh?” 

“Shut up.”

The brunet extended a xenonite hand to help Grace up, who took it gratefully. Simon hauled him up, and wow, did Grace look exhausted. He looked dead on his feet.

“...Alright,” Simon muttered to himself before scooping Grace up in a bridal carry.

“Woah—!” Grace exclaimed, holding onto Simon’s shoulders. “Simon, I can walk.”

“Yeah, but you looked about two seconds away from face planting, so I’m saving you from a broken nose and a pissed off Rocky.” He stayed put for another second in case Grace actually wanted down… but instead of protesting, he just closed his eyes and hesitantly rested his head on Simon’s shoulder. 

Was that… no, no. That blush was just residual from the tickling. It had to be. Simon’s, however? …What blush? There’s no blush. None.

Simon walked to the sleeping quarters, admittedly struggling a bit with getting down the ladder while holding Grace. But he could feel the blond dozing off, and he’d be damned if he made him get up. 

After a bit of struggling (and nearly slipping a few times), Simon made it down. He laid Grace down in his bed, smiling softly and pulling the blanket over him. He gave his friend one last longing look before turning to leave. But Grace’s voice made him stop in his tracks.

“Si?”

Simon whipped around. “Yeah?”

“...Can… you stay?” he asked, his words a bit slurred from sleepiness and his eyes only halfway open.

“...Huh?” Did he hear him right?

“One of the reasons I haven’t been sleeping… is because I’ve been getting nightmares.”

Simon’s brows furrowed. He knew all too well about nightmares. “About what?”

“...The beetles. That they… never made it back to Earth. I— I keep seeing my friends…”

Simon sighed softly. “Why didn’t you tell me? Fuckin’ idiot,” he said affectionately. 

“I didn’t wanna worry you.” Grace yawned.

“You’re not worrying me, dumbass.” Simon hesitated before gently carding his fingers through Grace’s hair. 

Grace leaned into it, sighing softly.

“I’m sure the beetles made it back. Hell, you sent four of ‘em. What’re the chances that they all didn’t make it? Don’t answer that question,” Simon said when he saw Grace start to open his mouth. “It’s not your responsibility anymore, Ry. You did your part. You did all you needed to do, and you were fuckin’ awesome while doing it. Okay?”

A soft grumble in response.

“Okay?” Simon repeated, moving to lightly scratch behind Grace’s ear.

Grace snorted softly, giggling and curling up. “Okahahahahay, okay!”

Simon snickered softly and retracted his hand. “But, to answer your question… Yeah. I’ll stay with you.” He crawled in bed with Grace, giving him as much space as he could. But when Grace cuddled up with him, oh, all willpower shattered. How could he not cuddle back?

Grace exhaled softly, face nuzzled the slightest bit into Simon’s chest. “...Night, Si…”

Simon smiled. Maybe it was because of the shock that wow Grace wants this too, maybe it was the fact that Grace had been getting nightmares, maybe it was because Simon was tired as well… But he softly placed a kiss to the top of Grace’s head, really hoping he wouldn’t regret it later.

“Goodnight, Angel.”