Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

To double-mate is as controversial and taboo on Erid as it is on Earth.

After decades of isolation, Rocky was in no state to uphold 300-year-held morals. He had resigned himself to never interacting with another again. He was in a devastated, grief-stricken spiral. It’s still no excuse, but after the Captain died and left him to be the last survivor, he had begun to feel the physical pain of an Eridian outcast from its colony. When he first met Grace and the pain began to ebb, it was no surprise he began to descend the slippery slope of addiction to its attention.

He did try his best to maintain his distance for as long as he could. He was able to keep himself from acting on his cravings even after he sacrificed himself for Grace and left it with a beautiful facsimile of a mate mark on its arm. He reminded himself that he would never see Grace again.

They were destined to separate and return to their homes. When saying goodbye to Grace, he couldn’t help but feel he was leaving his actual home behind. It was a pain beyond words. Fortunately, he was used to pain by now. Again he resigned himself to the sickness of isolation and said nothing of it to the human he held so dear.

Eridians are only outcast in extreme cases of plague-spread or colony infighting danger. Even in these situations, isolation is usually limited to a few years. That’s all the time it takes for an Eridian to drown in the feeling of pain and lose its will to act on aggressive instincts. Once it feels this instinct has been fully overridden with pain, it will perform a ritual where it allows itself to be beaten to near-death by predators in front of the rest of the settlement. Only then is finally permitted to return to the settlement peacefully, welcomed with open arms. Unfortunately, he does not even have that option now, separated by many years from any other. He spends most of his time sleeping. Any minutes awake are spent in physical and mental anguish.

When he realizes something is wrong with the fuel, he panics. He works for days and weeks trying to fix it. He can’t, of course. A disgusting part of him finds relief. He feels calm for the first time since he left Grace behind. He can finally do what he was meant to decades ago, and lay down to die alongside his crew. The dread he feels thinking of Erid’s impending doom becomes but a whisper in his mind.

Grace returns for him. Grace returns, and tells him they will be returning to Erid together. It tells him that it will die of starvation soon after they arrive. Of course it won’t, they have Taumoeba, and Erid’s scientists will easily find ways to keep it alive. Stupid human.

But… Grace didn’t know all of that. Grace thought it was sacrificing its life for Erid, for Rocky, to live out its last years on the Hail Mary, slowly wasting away from malnutrition. With him.

Rocky had fallen in love with Grace long ago. There were many reasons, even now, not to act on this love. Telling Grace would likely make it uncomfortable and add stress to its already very stressful short life. Their journey to Erid would last under four Earth years, which is practically nothing in the grand scheme of things. Rocky would soon be reunited with all his friends and family, and of course, his lovely bond mate.

All this to say, it would be an unspeakably stupid, selfish, illogical decision to approach Grace romantically. A decision Rocky knows he would regret for the remaining 300 years of his life. He knows he will regret it, and so he makes peace with keeping it to himself. He loves being Grace’s dearest friend. That’s plenty enough to quiet the voices in his head.

One day while watching Grace sleep, he learns that Grace reciprocates his feelings.

Human sleep is so strange. He feels equal parts delight and terror, listening to Grace talk about its dreams. It speaks of a fantasy world where anything can happen, where your deepest desires and darkest fears manifest inside your mind. He has comforted Grace many times upon it waking from a nightmare, and has learned many of Grace’s hidden anxieties this way.

“Rocky… please...”

When he hears Grace whimper the name it gave to him in its sleep, he is certain it is not afraid. Its reproductive organ is strained in its clothing, blood-flow increasing. Its heart beats hard and fast in its wide, cavernous chest. Rocky’s hearts beat just as fast. Faster. He taps quickly, quietly, against his constructed wall, wishing in every fiber of his being he could reach out and touch Grace.

He begins designing his form-fitting EVA suit to enter Grace’s atmosphere the next day. He explains it to Grace as a way to help it with maintenance on the Hail Mary, and with the controls in the case of an emergency. It’s not really necessary, and he would honestly much rather continue ordering Grace around to complete those tasks instead. But he can’t voice the actual reason he needs to enter Grace’s atmosphere.

The suit doesn’t take long to finish engineering. Grace wants to hug immediately when he tries it out for the first time. (As expected.) He knows all about human hugs from Grace attempting them while he’s separated from it by xenonite. It’s completely different, now, feeling the pressure of its touch around him. His darling leaky human feels the difference too, and it cries, for a longer time than it usually does. It explains human skin hunger to him, “touch starvation”, and he feels a little vindicated. He doesn’t explain Eridian isolation pain. It’s not relevant, anymore.

Grace is embarrassed when it asks him to hold onto it – new Human word, “cuddle”-- while it sleeps. He knows this because of the blood vessels in its face and the unsteady beat in its heart. He’s thrilled to bits. He has what he had fantasized about countless times: the opportunity to watch Grace sleep as close as possible. He holds onto it tight, wishing so badly that he would never have to let go of it.

It’s easy to forget about his obligation to Adrian. Sure, it still weighs in the back of his mind every waking second of his life. But there’s always something blocking it out. Grace’s presence, Grace’s attention, Grace’s cute face that changes based on its mood. Its laughter, its screams, and its tears, all stay at the forefront. He’s having so much fun just being Grace’s best friend. Everything feels easy, even keeping his own feelings a secret.

Everything is ruined when Grace asks him to watch it masturbate. He can’t say no. Truthfully, he’s already watched it many times before, across the ship while Grace thought it was being quiet and thought he was asleep. Grace was so far away all those times, but he could still detect its heavy breathing, its leaking genitals, and its flushed skin. Selfishly, he craves more.

Grace doesn’t even cover the desire with an excuse like “for science”, like it usually does when it wants to ask Rocky invasive questions or personal requests. It straightforwardly admits to fantasizing about him watching, and wonders if he would aid it in its pursuit of pleasure. Grace likes being watched, it explains.

His reproductive organs have a strong enough hold on him to outweigh the cowardice. Rocky asks if he can touch Grace, not just watch, still hiding behind calling the urge “scientific curiosity”. He’s not as brave as Grace is, in the end. Its cheeks flush. Its genitals twitch.

“Touch, um, yeah! Wow, yeah! If you’re sure you’re okay with that. If I’m not too gross.” It scratches at its beard, fidgeting, nervous. Precious. He’s unable to stop himself from eagerly tapping his claws against the ground. “That sounds awesome. Just, maybe wait a second. Let me explain each part first so you know how. You have to be gentle, here...”

He learns quickly how to bring Grace pleasure, memorizing its every reaction to his words and his touch. He learns that it likes pleasure to be drawn out, and to be taken to the edge multiple times before finishing in a triumphant frenzy. He learns the many more ways a human can be leaky, and Grace is all of them at once. It has difficulty orgasming multiple times in one session like an Eridian does, but that’s fine. Its blissed-out expression of adoration is enough to bring him satisfaction.

Another night, Grace asks him afterward if there’s anything it can do to pleasure him in return. He takes some time to decide. He drags his claws nervously against each other. He’s already crossed so many lines. What’s one more?

Grace’s dexterous hands on his body bring him to completion time and time again until his mercury spend puddles at the bottom of his suit. He needs to go wash it out. It’s sticky, cold, disgusting. He stays and cuddles with Grace instead, allowing himself to bask in the comfort of a pretend mate’s touch for just a bit longer.

He adjusts the suit’s capabilities. Soon, its strength and elasticity allows it to stretch enough to provide a barrier between their bodies as Grace penetrates his breeding cavity with its genitals. It hurts very badly. His reproductive organs are not built to withstand such a large intrusion, and he has not been penetrated in a very long time. Grace loves penetrating him, though. It will always promise, delusional, between sobs, that it will fill him with its genetic material and get him pregnant. The fantasy is worth the physical pain.

His human allows this to happen almost a dozen more times afterward, before asking Rocky what it all means to him.

“Can Eridians... mate... with friends? Humans sometimes do.” There’s a waver in its voice. It’s trying to give Rocky an out, which is very kind.

He explains to Grace that it’s common for Eridians to mate with others before they are officially bonded for life. It’s part of the courting process, after all. Sometimes potential mates are not as compatible as expected. It doesn’t have to be a permanent arrangement if they don’t want it to be. Obviously, he leaves out the fact that his body has been releasing bonding pheromones in Grace’s presence long before they interacted sexually.

Grace is undeterred.

“I know you said Adrian might have moved on by now,” Grace says. “but if they haven’t and they still want to be with you, the last thing I want is to get in the way of you being together.”

They sit in a tense silence for a moment. There’s nothing Rocky can bring himself to say in response. He’s motionless, uncertain.

“But, I was wondering something.” Grace begins again. It is staring at him, its heartbeat oppressively loud. His hearts echo back. He knows what it is about to say.

He feels as if he’s being crushed under the weight of a million tons of force. He feels as if Grace tore open his carapace and ripped out his innards. He feels as if he could live forever.

“If… if they have moved on. Would you ever… could you and I be together, like that? As mates?”

The last thing he should say here is “Yes.” The stupidest, most illogical response is “Yes.” The way to ensure they both will end up suffering, one way or another, would be to say “Yes.”

After that conversation, Grace doesn’t ask for sex again. It doesn’t even ask Rocky to watch it touch itself. It goes back to only doing so while it thinks he is asleep.

It is completely reasonable. Any of that would betray its desires and contradict its expressed wish to avoid breaking Rocky’s loyalty. Rocky still resents it. He should have just lied and said they could keep touching without romantic feelings being part of it. He should have said he would never consider being actual mates with a squishy, delicate alien. He should have said “No.” but of course he said “Yes.”

Chapter Text

By the time they reach Erid, Grace has been in critical condition for weeks. Fortunately, Rocky immediately finds there is no lack of resources or attention on Erid for his human’s needs.

Erid’s scientists are bored of stressing over the same issue for so long. More importantly, the cure for their star is already near-fully developed, thanks to Grace’s efforts. Taumoeba just needs to be reproduced on a larger scale and sent to fight the astrophage infection on Erid’s star. Everything left to do is very easy, practically grunt work.

Grace’s issues, meanwhile, are new and interesting and uniquely exciting. Rocky feels a certain kinship with the scientists who begin to devote their lives to its care. Adrian becomes one of them. With their position within Erid politics, they’re able to act quickly to gather any resources necessary for Grace’s health.

When Rocky is finally able to physically reunite with Adrian, he’s shaking with nerves. What will they say? How will they feel? What do they feel for him, now? Have they betrayed their bond, like he has? They detect him around a corner and immediately barrel into him to knock their carapaces together in excitement. They tower over him, nearly twice his size.

“Missed you so much, missed you, love you,” they repeat, over and over, clicking feelings of comfort at him. Trying to make up for all the time he had to spend alone.

He missed them too, so much. He says so. He can’t seem to say much more than that. Luckily, they understand how he feels without him having to explain anything. In some ways, it feels like he never left their side. It’s perfect. It’s so terrible. His hearts ache with love and shame. He feels stupid for ever imagining they might have tried to find another in his absence. They reassure him he is the only one for them.

…

The day Grace is declared healthy enough to handle having guests, Rocky introduces Adrian to it. He tries to be casual about it. He aims his thoughts in Grace’s direction. Please don’t ask whether we’re still together. Please don’t let them know I ever doubted them. Grace smiles brightly in response. It expresses how excited it is to meet Adrian after hearing so much about them. A kind lie; Rocky tried his best to avoid mentioning Adrian to Grace on their journey.

Grace ends up chatting with Adrian for hours, using the translation machine it and Rocky created to speak Eridian with them. While listening to them, Rocky can’t help but compare how similar they are. Adrian asks all about Earth culture. They already had plenty of access to the knowledge from the Earth computer, but they have so many questions, still. They’re two dorky scientists in a pod. Grace learns that Adrian is in charge of engineering his home on Erid, and he thanks them profusely. They reassure Grace that it has earned their eternal gratitude by saving Rocky’s life. And Erid’s life, they add as an afterthought. The sound of Grace’s beautiful laugh in response echoes, shamefully, in Rocky’s mind.

When Grace is healthy enough to move to the biodome, two full Earth-years have passed since they reached Erid. The plan to cure the star has been fully executed, and Eridians are now focused on rebuilding the sprawling cities that were destroyed by the disasters. The surface of the planet is still inhospitable to their people without technological assistance, and there is still ongoing flooding in some regions. Still, his people are strong and the triumph of his mission has reinvigorated their spirits.

Adrian is busy with many of these planet-rebuilding projects, but still finds so much time to devote to Rocky. Even knowing he doesn’t deserve it, he greedily accepts all of their affections. They expect nothing back from him. When he spends days on end standing outside of Grace’s biodome, watching over it from afar, they coo over what a “dutiful guardian” he is.

Adrian touches him and it’s heaven. In those moments, their bodies intertwined, pleasure reverberating between them, he tries to forget. He pretends it’s only ever been them. He loses himself in the feeling of being loved, letting them take control. It’s nice, but it never lasts.

They ask him if he’s still interested in making offspring with them. They say they are excited to repopulate Erid, as he had promised them so long ago, before he left. He can’t even come up with an excuse. He breaks down. I’m not worthy of it, Adrian. I can’t. They don’t understand, and he can’t let them understand, and he hates himself for the pain they feel in their confusion. Merciful as always, they don’t bring up the topic again.

…

Adrian begins to spend more time with Grace than he does. Even the days he visits Grace, he’s unable to bring himself to speak with it for long. He has so much to say, but can’t allow himself any of it.

Rocky’s mate and Rocky’s human organize a “5-year-anniversary” party together, to celebrate the amount of time that has passed since he and Grace landed on Erid as heroes. They’ve dragged Rocky along with them to different venues, asked his opinions on decorations, even given him veto-ability for the guest list. It’s fun, being with them makes it fun. He’s struck by how compatible the two are as they laugh and joke and tease each other.

The night of the party, Rocky is surprised to find himself genuinely enjoying it. As the focus of the party, he and Grace are joined at the hip. Next to him, Grace recalls the same memories Rocky has recalled a thousand times before, of their journey together. The way it describes everything is as if it’s an exciting, action-packed fictional adventure story. It and Adrian’s friends hang onto its every word. For Rocky, Grace’s voice causes a warm, nostalgic feeling to settle deep inside him. It’s a starkly different feeling from the usual bleak boredom caused when he himself speaks of the events. He can tell just by listening that Grace still doesn’t regret coming to Erid one bit. It makes everything feel worth it; how happy Grace is to be here, how much fun it’s having telling this story.

He and Grace receive many party gifts. Grace’s favorite, by far, is from an Eridian chemist. After many trials, the chemist finally succeeded in synthesizing a replication of human alcohol. Grace quickly partakes in this gift, becoming silly and difficult to understand. By the end of the party, it is unable to keep itself standing, leaning on Rocky for support.

Adrian and Rocky take the inebriated human back to its enclosure. It falls asleep on the walk there, so they have to carry it, both of them hoisting an arm and a leg over their carapace. Adrian is tucking it into bed and humming soothing sounds at it, trying not to laugh. Grace wakes, and hugs Adrian’s outstretched limb. It pulls at them weakly.

“C’mon, Rock, get’n bed w’me. Wanna cuddle.” Grace whines, still half-asleep. Adrian does laugh, now, and follows the childish request, getting underneath the quilt themselves.

Adrian wraps themselves around Grace, and Rocky has to fight the urge to run far, far away. He’s standing at the doorway, waiting for Adrian to come back and tell him they can go home. He’s still close enough to detect every hair on Grace’s soft skin. He observes the way Grace maneuvers its body closer to Adrian’s, now pressed against them entirely. Grace’s sex organ is erect, and it rubs it against Adrian’s carapace, and Rocky suddenly feels like he’s going to explode.

“Mmm… touch me, Rock… please...”

“Silly human,” Adrian rumbles, amused. “I am not Rocky.”

“Whaaa,” Grace hiccups. He fondles at Adrian’s large body, feeling at their divots and bumps. “oh, you’re-- um, hii, Adrian. I’ve – I messed up, huh.”

“I do not mind. It is very cute how stupid you are right now.” Adrian purrs happily, feeling lucky to be so close to an extremely touchy Grace.

“Adrian! How could you say that?” Grace sits up suddenly, voice serious, affronted. It is swaying back and forth, a dazed look on its face. Rocky observes the way Adrian rubs at its back, comforting it.

“Apologies. I will not mention how stupid you are.” Adrian promises. They chitter quietly, unable to keep their laughter from escaping.

“N-no, not that. The cute part!” Grace points a finger at Adrian accusingly, poking at their carapace. He mumbles something unintelligible then flinches away, as if shocked. “I’m… maybe, I’m too drunk right now. You should leave. You… you both, should leave.”

Before Rocky can speak up and agree with Grace, Adrian moves a claw to Grace’s crotch. Every word Rocky has ever said or heard is gone from his head. Grace’s heartbeat hammers loudly, filling the otherwise silent room. Adrian softly squeezes Grace’s sex organ, causing Grace to squeal.

“Are you still thinking about Rocky, now?” Adrian hums. They stroke their claw against Grace. It whines pitifully. Rocky can observe its organ filling out, larger, thicker, in response to Adrian’s touches.

“Adrian, what are you doing?” Rocky asks. “You – you can’t.”

Adrian grumbles back at him, saying nothing. They’re still touching Grace. Their own entrance is now making wet noises as it begins to open in preparation for mating.

“Answer the question, Grace. Are you still thinking about my mate?”

“Yeah,” Grace admits, voice rough. “I’m imagining he’s touching me, right now.”

“He’s imagining it too. Aren’t you, love?” Adrian’s voice is almost unbearably deep and low as it reverberates through the room.

“Yes.” Rocky finds himself responding, despite everything.

“Such a good mate,” Adrian purrs. They move to pin all four of Grace’s limbs down, their imposing form towering over it. Rocky begins to pant involuntarily, feeling his own entrance tensing up. He pictures how good it feels when Adrian pins him down.

“How,” Grace begins, a moan cutting off its sentence as Adrian strokes at it. “How long have you known, Adri?”

“Not long at all. I was not certain until your touches tonight, as you imagined you were touching Rocky. I always thought, maybe… but I would tell myself I was projecting. Perhaps I am the stupid one, for taking so long to realize, really.” Adrian hums, sounding a little sad. “We could have had this so long ago if only I had known.”

“Shouldn’t we, uh,” Grace clears its throat. It squirms in Adrian’s grasp. “We need to talk about this, first.”

“You’ve waited so long, and you still want to wait even longer?” Adrian huffs, defeated. They move off of Grace’s limbs, climbing off of its body onto the mattress next to it.

“Ughhh. I’m not even thinking clearly right now.” Grace says. It rubs at its face, frustrated. “I mean, you just sobered me up in a big way. I’m still not gonna say all the right things when I’m like this. Might not even remember it all. Can’t you both just come back in the morning? Eugh, on second thought, maybe the afternoon. I’m gonna be so hungover.”

“I do not understand why humans choose to consume a substance with such results.” Adrian shivers. They lift themselves off the bed and join Rocky in the doorway. “Fine, we will not talk now. But we will watch you sleep. And we will be here in the morning to nurse you back to health. You will not turn us away.”

“Yes, mom.” Grace mumbles, turning over and groaning.

Adrian waits patiently until Grace’s breathing has slowed to that of a human’s deep sleep. They then turn to walk out to the front porch of Grace’s enclosure, chittering little noises of frustration. When Rocky does not follow immediately, they hum at him shortly.

“Come here. We must be far enough as not to wake your darling alien.”

“Yes, yes, sorry.” Rocky startles, unsure. If they wanted to talk, they could have just done so inside the bedroom, in a register Grace’s hearing couldn’t detect. He follows Adrian, anyway. They end up settling down on the beach just a bit away from the enclosure, still close enough to detect Grace’s steady heartbeat.

“You will tell me everything. And then I will forgive you for keeping it all to yourself for so long.” Adrian tells him.

In the face of such a request, Rocky feels the full weight of his love for Adrian, enormous, growing larger still, inside his five hearts. The promise of forgiveness he has not earned floods his mind with peace. He still does not understand why they are so willing to forgive his betrayal, but he gets the feeling he’s not allowed to question it right now. He tells them everything, as they’ve asked him to. He spares no detail. They deserve that, at the very least.

He admits trying to forget about them. He admits allowing his body to bond itself to Grace. He describes the feeling of bliss and terror when he was able to touch Grace with no barrier between the two. He admits the excitement he felt, dying on the floor of the ship, knowing he had sacrificed himself for a creature he loved more than anything. He tells them of all the terrible, selfish thoughts he had during that journey. Thoughts he has never shared with anyone. They spill out of him in an unstoppable flood of emotion.

He finishes speaking and realizes he is sobbing uncontrollably. Adrian has wrapped their limbs around him, stroking against his carapace gently.

“You felt so much pain, and you could not even tell me.” they say. Their voice is pained, but steady. They attempt to soothe him. “My poor, poor darling mate. You will be okay, now. I will always care for you.”

“Why?” Rocky finally brings himself to ask. “Why does this not… why have you not cast me aside? I’ve committed the worst crime a mate ever could.”

“For the same reason I never took on another mate during your absence. When I was certain you had died, I could not face it. You are everything to me, my mate. I will not leave your side. Even if you tell me you do not want to be with me, that you do not love me anymore, I will remain devoted to you. I will die before I allow myself to be parted from you a second time.”

It’s simple, when they say it like that. He tries to allow himself to believe them. If it’s all true, he can have everything he’s ever wanted.

“What about your feelings for Grace? If I were to,” he shakes, terror rippling through him as he voices something he’s pushed from his mind all this time. “double-mate with it. Would you not grow to despise it?”

“I have been jealous of Grace from the moment I learned of its existence. I will not deny this feeling. However, it has been just as easy to grow to love it. If it were not for Grace, you would still be among the stars. I would likely never have seen you again. I am certain I can remain cordial.”

“Can it really be so simple?”

“Yes, it can. I can not promise everything will go perfectly smoothly. It does help that Grace is a very sweet, young thing. If you will allow me to mate with it as well, that may help.” Adrian’s voice turns mirthful. Rocky considers this.

“I cannot tell if you are being serious.”

“You just watched as I fondled it. Of course I am serious.”

“That is true,” he cringes, feeling pangs of fear and humiliation as he recalls Grace’s drunken actions. “but it is not up to me whether you mate with it. You would have to ask Grace.”

“Perhaps I will.” Adrian chimes thoughtfully. They’re leaning over him, suddenly. “First, though, I think I will renew my mateship with you.”

Chapter Text

"...First, though, I think I will renew my mateship with you."

“Right now?!” Rocky squeaks, as two of his limbs are hoisted in the air, leaving his entrance exposed. It’s no longer opened, but the stains of mercury release remain, smeared against his EVA suit.

“Look at yourself…” Adrian purrs. “All worked up just from watching me mess with your little human.”

“I’m sorry,” Rocky whines.

“I have already forgiven you, remember?” Adrian chides gently. They stroke a claw against his entrance, prodding at his slit. “Come out, now, little one.”

Rocky obediently allows himself to extrude, his ovipositor eagerly pushing up against the EVA suit to meet Adrian’s touch. He’s completely average in the context of the size of the rest his body. However... next to Adrian’s towering form, he can't help but feel like a hatchling. It’s something Adrian has always found amusing to tease him about, likely because drawing attention to it turns him on like nothing else. He cries out as Adrian grips him tightly through the layer of suit.

“If only I could penetrate you like this, right now. When we are finished with speaking to Grace after he wakes, we will return to our home and I will properly take what is mine.”

“Please!” Rocky squeals. He suddenly can’t think of anything but than the emptiness inside of himself. “I want it now! Take me home now!”

Adrian laughs at his desperate pleading. Their voice is low and terribly erotic. Their own ovipositor is straining against their EVA suit. They lift him up in the air and bring him to their entrance, thrusting against him. These suits were not made to stretch enough for an ovipositor as large as theirs, and they growl deeply in frustration, unable to fully unsheathe themselves.

“My mate is so greedy. Are you certain you do not want to watch Grace sleep as I bring you to completion?”

“I do want that,” he whines, frustrated. Adrian shifts against him roughly.

“I will help you finish, and then I will take you home to use you finish myself. Can you be good and finish quickly for me?” Adrian asks sweetly. They thrust against him again, then push him to the sand and pin all his limbs down. As their huge ovipositor grinds on top of his, Rocky realizes there is no way he is going to last long.

“Be good, will be so good, please, please,” he squeals helplessly.

“Yes, good for me, my treasured mate. You take it so well." Adrian thrusts down roughly.

"Please, more, more," he whines. His entrance makes a wet sound as it begins to leak sincerely, eggs gathering at the base.

"Take it, release now, darling. Listen to the darling sleeping noises of your Grace as you release.”

Rocky obeys, focusing on Grace's gentle breaths and steady, beating heart. That lonely heart that might beat for him, still. Adrian presses even more of their weight onto Rocky’s most sensitive organ, and he feels himself begin to convulse as he finishes underneath them. He erupts inside of the suit, filling it with his eggs and mercury. He’s gasping for air, weeping uncontrollably.

He only gets a moment to recover his senses before he’s lifted onto Adrian’s back. Adrian begins the short walk to their home from Grace’s biodome, carrying him the entire way. Their ovipositor is still partially extended as they pass by busy scientists and dome workers. Rocky feels hot with shame at the display.

Adrian throws Rocky onto their nest and makes short work of removing both their EVA suits. Rocky’s will need to be deep-cleaned, still full of his mess, he realizes, terribly embarrassed. He is shaken from his thoughts as he observes Adrian, finally able to fully extend themselves completely. Their thick ovipositor presses eagerly at Rocky’s still-sensitive entrance. He’s unable to suppress a squeal in his overstimulation.

“My dear mate,” Adrian trills happily. They prod at his entrance, and he slowly allows his own ovipositor to extend weakly, making room for them to enter his breeding cavity. They wrap around him, gentle, loving, for a moment, before finally penetrating him. “Did you allow Grace to enter you like this?”

“Please, I can’t,” Rocky begs, the thought of Grace like this still causing his hearts to constrict in pain. He's almost unable to think, with them inside him like this. But he’s already promised to share everything with Adrian. He won’t be cowardly any longer. “I did. Many times. Grace is almost your size when fully aroused, you know. It felt like I was being stretched out by you.”

“You desperate thing. Grace is large, but no stronger than any Eridian. You could have shown your strength and penetrated it instead. Though, I will bet that you never even tried. You love to be taken so much.”

Rocky is unable to reply, completely flustered by Adrian’s teasing. He whines desperately. Imagining himself with Grace again is causing his hearts to do flips in his carapace. He's wanted and wanted for so long. Could it really be within his grasp?

Adrian pulls his limbs further upwards to the perfect angle to push themselves fully inside. They’re as deep as they can go, the base of them rumbling in pleasure against his entrance. He’s trembling terribly. His own ovipositor is desperately clinging to the ridges of Adrian’s carapace as they begin to sway against him, pushing and pulling him wherever they desire.

"Oh, Adrian!" he cries out their name. The fullness inside him pulses eagerly.

“I will not last long,” Adrian warns, voice strained. They growl at the feeling of Rocky clenching around them in response.

“Please, release inside.” he begs.

“Greedy mate,” Adrian says. They begin to speed up their thrusts, taking him at a brutal pace while he can do nothing in return but moan helplessly. They cry out as they begin to release.

Adrian's grip on his limbs tightens before finally letting go. They exit his entrance and slide down to the nest, vibrating intensely. Rocky feebly rests himself next to them. He taps on their carapace lightly, peacefully. They hum, appreciating the relaxing gesture.

Rocky wants to tell them how much he loves them and how much he appreciates them, but he can't bring himself to speak. He feels his body slow down as if he's at the edge of sleep.

They lay for some time, basking in the afterglow. Adrian sings softly to him as their eggs slide out of him onto the nest. Rocky lets out a small, happy squeak. He begins to think about how he’ll spend the rest of his life repaying the debt he owes them.

…

Rocky wakes and he’s laying on the beach of Grace’s biodome, next to Adrian. They’re wearing fresh EVA suits, and his body is clean of fluids. He recalls the state he was in when he fell asleep in their nest and feels himself vibrate in embarrassment knowing Adrian had cleaned him up. He must have felt so relaxed and safe in the wake of Adrian discovering his secrets and forgiving them that his stressed body collapsed and allowed itself to rest.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. Grace will be, soon, as well. Let us go to him.” they chirp. They nudge at his sore limbs and he attempts to join them as they walk down the shore. He stumbles, still in a sleepy daze.

“Grace,” he mumbles, longingly. He wonders what in the world he will say to it. Will they really be able to go back to the way they were? Is that something Grace would even want, while he’s still with Adrian? Will Grace… could it even want to double-mate with him and Adrian, as Adrian suggested? He squeals with a shameful excitement at imagining the idea of it.

They’re close enough to the enclosure that Rocky begins to listen to the familiar sound of Grace’s heartbeat and breaths. He allows himself to yearn, to imagine again the feeling of being with it and being loved by it, untarnished by shame, now.

The sound of Adrian opening the door causes Grace to stir. Its eyes squint open, adjusting to the light of the biodome’s day-cycle. It lifts its head and groans in pain.

“Lemme sleep, please,” it begs, its voice muffled, flopping back down onto its pillow. “I feel like crap.”

“Too bad. We need to speak.” Adrian says, and promptly pulls Grace’s blanket off it onto the floor. Grace lets out a cry of anger, wrapping its arms around itself as goosebumps scatter across its skin.

“Whyy…?” Grace groans. It is still half asleep, groggy, movements slow.

Adrian pauses, clicking little irritated sounds at Rocky as if to say, there’s no way Grace forgot about last night, right? This alien can’t be that stupid.

“Human alcohol causes memory loss,” Rocky reminds Adrian in a tone outside of Grace’s hearing. He’s feeling mischievous, and he's in a good mood now that he's rested. “Will probably remember everything if you touch it again, like you did before.”

“No. Grace needs to remember first, then we will touch.” Adrian clicks back at him, exasperated.

Adrian leans forward to stroke a claw through Grace’s hair, scratching lightly at its scalp. It groans appreciatively. Adrian learned long ago that this is the easiest way to calm Grace when it gets a headache, or is stressed out.

Adrian allows them to sit like that for a while, then withdraws their hand. Grace whines and grabs at them greedily.

“More, more, please. That felt so good!” Grace pleads.

“First tell us what you can remember from last night. Then, I will resume.” Adrian promises.

“Ughhh…” Grace doesn’t move for a moment. Then, it stretches out its limbs, and with a sound of great effort, lifts itself to sit up and face them both. “I remember, okay? I’m just embarrassed. Adrian, I’m really sorry that I… um, touched you. Like that. And I’m even more sorry that I was… oh my god, I’m sorry. I can’t even say it. But I gotta. I’m sorry that I thought you were Rocky. And I’m sorry that I was even thinking about touching him. Like that.”

Grace’s face is flushed, blood flowing earnestly in its round cheeks. Its quiet, strained voice is just too adorable. Adrian makes a chattering sound of amusement, and rests their claw on Grace’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Grace, dearest. I forgive you.” Adrian says. “But I would like to know what your intentions are with Rocky. Are your feelings for him exclusively sexual, or do you wish to be involved romantically, as mates?”

“Um, wow. We’re just going to... throw it all out there.” Grace mumbles. He looks down, unable to face them.

“I guess, after all this time, I do owe it to you to be honest." Grace says. It is having trouble getting all its words out, and keeps trailing off. "My feelings... they’re definitely more than just sexual. More than romantic, even. Rocky is…” Grace takes a deep breath. “everything, to me. I fell in love with him so long ago, and I probably always will be in love with him. But, at least while I’m in my right mind, I promise I would never do anything to get in between the two of you. I know how much he loves you, Adrian. You're amazing, you make him so happy. I’ve seen how perfect you two are together.”

Rocky struggles to stay silent, letting out small sounds of excitement listening to Grace’s heartfelt, genuine words. Grace is such a perfect mate, he thinks to himself. I’ve fantasized about this for so long. It feels too good to be true.

“It hurts that you did not feel you could share these feelings with me.” Adrian admits. “I had treasured that we were becoming closer. You had become my best friend. I thought I knew all of your truths, and you mine. Despite these mixed feelings... there is no need for you to worry. All I ask is that you take good care of my mate while he is in your arms.”

“Wait, you’re--” Grace’s voice cracks. It looks up at Adrian, eyes suddenly full of tears. “Are you and Rocky… breaking up?”

“No!” Rocky and Adrian exclaim, at once.

“I hope not, anyway.” Adrian laughs. “Assuming you would be amenable to sharing him with me, as double-mates.”

“Yes! Oh, wow, yes!” Grace’s face lights up. Adrian leans in to wipe a tear from its cheek and press their carapace to its forehead. “Of course I would! Does that mean we would be mates, too, Adri?”

“I would like that very much,” Adrian affirms, “but it would not be a requirement.”

“I want to. Please. I want to be mates together with both of you. I want that so much.” Grace’s eyes are still wet. More tears spill out, now.

Rocky is unable to contain himself and jumps up onto the bed with them to wrap himself around them both in a big hug. Both of my wonderful mates. he thinks, dizzy. How did I get so lucky?