Prozac Nation

They can finally touch!!! Yeah they cuddle for a longggggg time after Grace wakes up

We don't really know much about Eridian beliefs or religion, right?

What if they believe in soul reincarnation?

Panspermia has become proven at this point, and it's become very clear that Grace loves Erid, and he belongs there and fits there better than he ever did on earth.

What if the Eridians just sort of collectively decide that in a previous life he was an Eridian, but during reincarnation there was a bit of confusion and he ended up on the wrong planet. They have common ancestors after all, right?

And then after more thinking, they decide actually he was put there on purpose because he had to be the one to meet Rocky so they could save the planets together, and then he could finally come back to where his soul finally feels at home.

But then they arrive on Erid, Grace gets his biodome, all is going well, but then Grace leans his head to the side, stretches and...

CRUNCH!

The biodome control room dissolves into high-pitched panic. Did the alien savior just get damaged? Did the structural support holding his round head bone snap?! Is he in pain, urgent question??

But Grace just yawns and continues working on the human thinking machine. Amaze. But also scary.

The most respected Eridian specialist on humans is called - Rocky, of course. Not only because he spent way more time with the alien than anyone else, but also because he would go on a rampage if something happened to his friend.

Rocky reviews the recording of the crunch and assures the scientists that it's fine, this is the good crunch, not a bad crunch.

Eridians can't really stare, but it certainly feels like it.

"What is good crunch, question? And how does Rocky know the difference from the bad crunch?"

Rocky thinks for a moment. Then he raises his claw - stupid human gestures, he will never get rid of this one - and gets his xenonite suit.

That is how Grace spends the next two hours demonstrating good crunches and cracks, bad crunches, neutral crunches and very concerning crunches to a fascinated and slightly nauseated group of Eridian scientists. Rocky is directing him, of course, but when Grace starts explaining that he can't produce indefinite crunches in all his joints, that most of them rely on gas bubbles releasing from the joints, Rocky promptly concludes the session, claiming "humans design is flawed, no more gas bubbles today".

Grace only learns weeks later that his joints drove the whole science division to gambling. They apparently bet on the upcoming crunch and its nature.

He understands.

They arrive to Erid, and one of the first things Grace does is playing for Adrian a little speech he made in Eridian using his recordings of Rocky's voice. And it's just... instructions. Mostly.

"He has a lot of anxiety about people's health and will probably freak out about yours at some point, don't dismiss it and let him see that you are okay."

"He is terrified of being alone, please make sure someone is physically close to him at all times."

"He is scared of falling asleep and will delay it as long as he can, you need to pay attention to his sleep cycle or he'll be hurting himself."

"He downplays everything bad that is happening to him, mental and physical, please keep an eye on him or he'll be ignoring his health completely."

"He never gave up, but I might die very soon and I'm not sure how he will react to it. Please be with him, even when it's not easy. He loves you. He wanted to return to you so badly. Even though he probably has changed, this is still him. Please keep loving him. He needs it more than ever. He'll need it when I am gone."

...Adrian is very annoyed because a) the fuck do you mean by implying that I'll leave him, b) the fuck do you mean by implying you know him better than I do (Adrian does have to begrudgingly accept this one later: Grace is objectively more familiar with Rocky's trauma responses), and c) the fuck do you mean you're gonna die no one's letting you die shut up and get into the lab we have science to do. They become friends fast, bonding over worrying about Rocky together.