i see a lot of takes where Adrian has mixed feelings / is avoidant of Grace to begin with, but have seen comparatively few takes of GRACE being avoidant. Grace, infamous coward. Grace, explicitly afraid of failure. Grace, who ran from saving the Earth because of said fear. Grace, who (if not aroace) avoided relationships with other humans to avoid getting hurt
i want a Grace who withdraws almost immediately when Adrian doesn’t react the same way Rocky said they would in best-case-scenario (because Adrian is a complex person who’s world has upended when their mate brought home a sick alien). he becomes distant and relies on old habits to be friendly, but not open.
through gritted teeth, he shoos Rocky away so he can go visit or spend time with Adrian. and it hurts every time Rocky takes up his offer, exactly 50% of the time (because Rocky so very carefully wants to give his most special people his attention, equally). Grace doesn’t want it to hurt when Rocky inevitably chooses Adrian over him. when Rocky chooses to go back to a normal life.
when Rocky visits alone, Grace is the same as he’s always been. when Rocky visits with Adrian, he’s the same as he’s always been. he jokes too much, is self-deprecating in ways that Rocky doesn’t recognize, is quick to brush off things that Rocky knows would bother him if it was just the two of them.
he’s got an invisible xenonite wall between him and Adrian, and Rocky can see it. but he can’t do anything about it, because Grace won’t admit that’s what’s happening. Rocky calls him out, asks why he doesn’t like Adrian, asks why Grace won’t come with him on visits. Why is Grace pushing Rocky away, question?
it’s not until Adrian asks that Grace sees how stupid he’s being. Adrian doesn’t ask outright, but they’d noticed that Grace acts differently around them and gets advice from Rocky. Adrian is bigger than Rocky, could Grace be afraid of Adrian, question? is Grace overwhelmed by how alien everything is? so the next time they visit, they’re dressed in soft clothes like what Grace wears and almost crawling across the floor, as small as they can make themselves. Grace thinks it’s a little odd and funny, and asks what they’re doing. Adrian says plainly, Do not want Grace to be afraid of Adrian, statement.
it’s an eye opener for Grace. he’s been so focused on avoiding the upcoming heartbreak that he didn’t see how much he was worrying and hurting Rocky and Adrian. it takes seeing Adrian, a proud and large Eridian, make themselves as small as possible at the chance to connect to him.
finally Grace, who is able to overcome his fear of failure/rejection with how strong his love for Rocky is, opens up. it comes out in choruses and sonatas, how worried he is about disappointing Rocky or keeping Rocky chained to him now that they’re home. Rocky reassured him that Grace is here to stay, so Rocky is here to stay with Grace. (Adrian reassures him that, yes, they have mixed feelings about him, but they are willing to learn who he is. that makes Grace feel so much better than he expected.)
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