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★ picks up a lot of habits from grace in general- the tapping, the glasses thing, the hand on hip pose (grace picks up a lot of habits from him too- especially the way he talks)

★ he has a couple of scars on his arms from working as an engineer

★ I don’t usually think about/have added it into my blurbs about him but I loveee four armed rocktiz

★ but even without his other set of arms he is strong. not like super buff, muscle-y strong but he can easily pick grace up and move stuff around the ship kinda strong

★ I’ve gone back and forth on this but I think I’ve settled on rocktiz being 6’2 (so about the same height as grace who is six foot exactly) (I also just really enjoy the thought of human adrian being like seven foot tall)

★ amazing singing voice- also can play piano/pipe organ (grace finds him some kind of music software(??) on the computer to show him what he sounds like and since he has perfect memory it’s pretty easy for him to get the hang of it)

★ ^hums when he’s bored/working on something

★ mm sensory issues.. HATES anything wet or squishy… (except for you and grace of course)

★ ^not good with spatial awareness (my translation of eridians having poor spatial memory). tilts cups of water too far back too fast and spills all over himself, stands in grace’s way, and accidentally elbows you all the time

★ so in summary.. adhd + autistic rocktiz lol

★ visual learner- easiest way for him to learn and remember something is by seeing/actually doing it

★ refuses to sleep anywhere but on you or grace’s chest (he needs to hear your heartbeat to fall asleep)

★ ^sleeps like a rock (pun intended)- he falls asleep fast too

★ he will (what you can only describe as) purr if you run your fingers through his hair

and then some honorable mentioned/other people’s headcanons of rocktiz I really like…

★ blind rocktiz!!

★ @/girlrust’s rocktiz w an oxygen cannula

★ honey hamm sent me a wonderful pic of @/ewereka on tiktok’s rocktiz w piercings and ahhh (I’d like to think that’s where his adrian pieces translate to!)

He claps his hands together, not unlike Grace when he remembers something or comes up with a good idea. Then- without warning he’s climbing haphazardly on top of you, trying to situate his limbs around your body.

“Woah wait— Rocky—“

“Yes? What problem, question?”

“We- I-“

“Yes?”

“Can we at least go to the bedroom so you don’t knock us over—“

“Oh yes good idea- so Rocky get full experience.”

“That’s not-“ you start but figure it’s too late to disagree with him now as he grabs your hand and leads you to the dormitory…

“This… does not generate pleasure,” he says after a while of examining the position. You’re upright on the bottom bunk, arms hugging yourself tightly as Rocky sits like an overgrown puppy on your lap.

“Well people usually sort of- grind? On each other, too—“

“Like this?” He asks, moving his hips experimentally.

“Mhmm!” You answer way too fast.

“Oohhh Rocky understand now. Stimulates here,” he emphasizes with another tilt of his hips.

“Yeah! Yup—“ your breath hitches as you try to find anywhere else to look other than at your friend in front of you, “you got it Rock.”

“Good, good, good.. Arms supposed to be like that, question?” He chirps.

“No.. they’re usually around the other person…”

Rocky grumbles at you, looking down at where your arms are tucked against yourself then back at your eyes expectantly. With a quiet huff you bring your arms out and place your hands on his hips. He makes a pleased chitter at that, looking proud of himself for picking up on this new bit of human culture so fast.

“Okay. What next?”

“Next??”

“Yes. You say this how things start. What is next?”

“I don’t know— people might talk to each other or um kiss?” You offer.

“Oh. Rocky still does not understand kissing. But will try for ritual completion.”

“Wait Rock you don’t have—“ you’re cut off by his lips forcefully pressing against yours.

For someone who doesn’t understand kissing- he sure was enthusiastic to do so- you think to yourself as you softly return his kiss.

Rocky leans into you, tongue slipping into your mouth at your surprised squeak as you fall back against the cot below.

You definitely did not teach him that.

You’d have to have a chat with Grace after this.. and Mary… damn Stratt giving the Hail Mary internet access.

Then as if he had read your mind, Rocky begins rolling his hips against you— that.. that you did teach him.

Grace refused at first but eventually relented..

You wouldn’t retire for the night just yet- you couldn’t- not when the mission to save humanity rest unfinished before you.

Besides, you’d never been one to retire early. Especially not when there was a job unfinished.

So you went back to the ship, tidied up a bit, took inventory, paced around a bit… Your first mistake was sitting down in the cockpit under the excuse of checking the fuel tanks. Your second mistake was grabbing the thin blanket from your bunk because it was always cold on the ship.

You don’t remember nodding off yet you awake with a jolt. You couldn’t have been sleeping for long but the still vivid sensation of falling told you it was long enough for you to have a nightmare.

You weren’t afraid of falling- you were a pilot- you’ve had your fair share of heart stopping drops in your lifetime. But it had still shaken you, leaving you clammy and tense.

At least back home you knew you would eventually come back down if you fell. In space, you no longer had the comforts of gravity. Panic rises in your chest at the realization.

Panic wasn’t good- panic makes you stupid. Needing to snap yourself out of it you blink through sleepy tears and crept back to the tunnel as quiet as you could, hands clutching the blanket.

Your shoulders drop at the sight of Grace and Rocky laying on either side of the glass barrier. They were safe- you were safe, you remind yourself, cautiously walking around the failed zenonite model Grace had been working on to sit near the pair.

Covering yourself with the blanket you leaning back against the wall of the tunnel- intending to fall back asleep when a soft call of your name grabs your attention.

Grace’s head peaks out from under the quilt, looking over at you from his spot against the glass.

“Rocky was right,” you murmur, “shouldn’t have gone off by myself.”

Grace doesn’t say anything- he simply blinks sleepily at you a moment longer before lifting up the quilt covering him in a silent offer.

Oh.

You hadn’t expected that. But you were cold and if panic made you stupid- your tiredness made you completely brainless. The want for warmth and comfort selfishly overtook you and you accepted his offer, slipping under the soft weight and drifting off to a nightmare-less sleep.

The unspoken ritual of sharing the quilt would carry on through the rest of the mission.

Progress- you thought idly one night- who would’ve thought the thing to cure your anxiety induced insomnia was middle school science teacher, rock like alien, and a comfy quilt?

Then it was time to go fishing and whatever process you made quickly unraveled.

There was nothing you could’ve done to prevent the fuel leak. Even if you had piloted perfectly Grace and Rocky had already calculated the distance they needed for the collector- you had to fly that low. It just happened to be low enough for the ship to tear itself apart.

Grace had ejected the leaking fuel bays but was knocked out after being slammed against the control board. You had stayed conscious enough to turn the centrifuge system on, getting gravity back to normal.

Your memory after that is fuzzy.

You remember Grace’s chair being stuck, trapping him against the panel. You remember blood pouring from an open wound on his head and crying as you desperately tried to pull the chair back.

Later you would realize that Rocky’s ball had cracked after being thrown against a wall. Which explained the vague memory of Rocky’s screams and hisses as he broke out to help you. You would pass out after helping him get Grace to Armando. Both of you slumped against your respective sides of his enclosure in the lab.

That was where Grace would find you two when he came to.

He was sure he hadn’t been out for a long time yet your dark circles and rustled hair made it seem like he’d missed days.

You stay there until Rocky wakes up. Grace had tried to gently urge you to stand up and stretch your legs or go rest on an actual bed but you refused to leave the room. Knowing you weren’t going anywhere, he did the best he could, wrapped you in the quilt, and got to work on the taumoeba.

The only time you fell asleep were unintentional and when Grace sat next to you, offering a shoulder to rest your head (which he would then gently lower you onto his lap so your neck wouldn’t hurt when you woke up).

When Rocky had finally woken up you were a mess. The culmination of days worth of stress and little sleep caught up to you as you sobbed against the panes of his ball.

You slept peacefully then, with Rocky and Grace watching over you.

When the three of you finally arrive on Erid, you expected things to change.

The Eridians had been kind enough to build you and Grace separate bedrooms. They’d even asked if you wanted two houses but the time spend in close proximity made it difficult to even imagine not sharing the same space anymore.

You were grateful for the privacy- in concept you were overjoyed to have your own room again! But the first night officially moved into your new home you couldn’t sleep. Not without Rocky standing guard or at the very least, Grace’s warmth beside you.

So after an hour of tossing and turning you finally tip toe over to Grace’s room.

It was weird seeing him in a bed for once. He looked cozy, domestic- all bundled up in the sheets and blankets. You decided on joint custody of the quilt when the two of you were dividing things from the ship. Now, with the picture perfect view you had of him tucked underneath it- you were grateful you let him take it first.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” he whispers as you came closer.

“I’m blaming Rocky,” you whisper back, crawling under the covers.

“Mhm me too,” he opens his arms, giving you space to press yourself against his side before wrapping them around you.