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Adrian was practically vibrating in their shell. It had been, to be blunt, a very eventful set of days.
Their mate, the love of their life, was alive. Not only that, but their love returned with the tools to save their planet's dying star. By whatever fragile mercy and kindness could be found among the cold void above, their love had returned to them whole, healthy, and a savior.
There were, of course, scars. Adrian had wept when they realized them. He had both physical ones that marred his joins and vents and mental ones that clung to his every word. The very way he spoke was different now. He was different now, and how could he not be? He was the only survivor. He had watched his entire crew die. Adrian was one of a narrow few in rejoicing such a return. So many other families did not get a gift like this. It was only by a slim margin that Adrian themselves had gotten a gift like this.
It turned out, the mercy of the void took the form of a sentient alien. An alien had brought Rocky home and helped him save all of Erid. Not his crew or his own ingenuity and luck. An alien. One that had been dying when it first arrived.
Rocky's near silent cries when it was just the two of them at home and his dogged determination before everyone else were gut wrenching to witness. It became increasingly clear to Adrian that Rocky would crumble under the weight of his mission if the alien died. The Astrophage killer was not the only precious miracle Rocky clung to from the stars and the loss of either life form upon finally returning home would surely crush his soul.
It was for this reason that Adrian joined the team building a habitat for the alien. It was a small debt to pay to the being that had saved their mate and planet. More than that though, the action was a way to silently say to Rocky, "See? Your alien will live. I believe it so much I am building it a home before it is even cured."
And the alien would live. The news had come in that the scientist working on nutrients had found something that would sustain the being. At least for a time. Long enough for more methods to be found. It would be a years long struggle but the alien would live.
Rocky had been extatic, leaping around the room in a way he hadn't since they were both young. His joy was infectious. It made them love this foreign being for bringing Rocky home and bringing him joy.
Although now, Adrian was mostly nervous. The alien had recovered enough that it was now allowed visits from non-vital personnel. Rocky was bringing Adrian to meet it. To meet and alien! An actual alien!
Certainly they had read the information on it's biology. They had joined the thrum where Rocky described it in great detail. That was different from hearing the thing in person. As much as they knew Rocky loved it and as much as they were greatful to it, they could not help but be afraid.
It was, well... alien.
Rocky sensed their nervousness. He always did before going to space and had not lost the trait to the stars. He gently rubbed a limb against theirs.
"Don't be scared. Grace is kind," he crooned. After a moment of hesitation he added, "A little gross sometimes, but cute too."
"Were you not scared when you met it?" Adrian asked.
Rocky let out a chuckling whistle. "Yes. Very. But Grace was scared too. That helped. We were both alone together."
Adrian hummed in acknowledgement and continued to wait. The elevator ride was long.
The alien was kept in an attached pod on the very space elevator that had sent Rocky away in the first place. The pod allowed for easy access to the alien for medical attention and interaction. It was also safer than keeping it on it's ship or the planet's surface, both for them and the alien. The pod could also be jettisoned from the elevator if need be filling the space with Erid's atmosphere and killing the thing instantly. Rocky had raged at that but it was the condition the leaders placed for helping a being that no one could prove was truly harmless.
Now though, people were much less wary if Adrian being allowed to visit at all meant anything. A few of their colleagues had spoken to it. They spoke with a sort of mystified charm about the creature. It was intelligent in odd ways, both slower and faster than an Eridian mind. It was a good teacher. That had been a common phrase. Apparently, back on it's home world, it had been one for children. Rocky had insisted that it could do the same on Erid as well. The future of such an idea was yet to be seen.
The elevator came to a stop. Rocky hummed excitedly as the doors opened. Adrian just rubbed their fingers together nervously before following Rocky into the room.
Half the space was dedicated to the up close monitoring and lab work that had been needed to sustain the alien. Despite all the equipment, there was space to observe and interract through a xenonite wall of a particular composition that the alien could detect light through. The rest of the room belonged to the alien. It's own little enclosure.
Speaking of, the being stirred and swiveled it's light sensing region called a "head" towards them. The being was so full of sound. The constant hiss of its vents and the rhythmic thumping of an organ in its upper main thorax filled the room. The thumping sped up slightly as it noticed them. Then, it's mouth split open revealing lines of protruding bone from its internal carapace. It made a sound, strange, deep, and oddly sharp.
"He said my name," Rocky whimpered to Adrian. Then, louder he said, "Grace this is Adrian."
It was through his acknowledgement that the alien seemed to notice them. Its head turned more towards Adrian and it pulled in a large gasp of air. Cooling itself maybe? Then it uttered a string of sounds, more air filled than Rocky's name had been.
"Grace use instrument," Rocky said and tapped on the xenonite. "Repeat back to Adrian."
The alien extended one of its long limbs to a device that had clearly been constructed by an Eridian. Probably Rocky himself. It ran its many long flexible claws over the device before pressing certain parts in a specific order.
An odd approximation of an Eridian voice filled the air with the words, "Adrian is beautiful."
"Oh!" Adrian took a small step back before cautiously coming closer. "Do you think so? I am very different from you."
The alien let out a breathy rhythmic sound. Was that- Was it laughing? Judging by Rocky's answering chuckle it was. Aliens laughed too. Who knew?
"Humans can sense light. Adrian knows this already, question?" The alien played and tapped the end of one of its lower limbs on the ground to emphasize the question. Was it a gesture their people had in common or mimicry, Adrian wondered.
"Yes," Adrian answered. "I cannot imagine it."
The alien laughed softly again. "I cannot imagine only hearing the world. Light sense has wave lengths. Like you hear texture, we detect light waves. We call the different ones-"
Here the alien paused and said a word out loud before playing a new word on its instrument. "Color. We call it color. Adrian is a bright color. The color of living things and the sea. Beautiful."
"Oh." This was... The humans ability was technically not new information but a different experience in person that hearing about it in a thrum or reading about it. Adrian could resist the pull of curiosity. "What color is Rocky? Do you find him beautiful?"
The alien turned its sensing organs fully towards Adrian and was quiet for a moment. Well, as quiet as it could be. Then it played, "Rocky is the color of solid ground beneath our feet. Is the color of soil, of stone. I always think Rocky is beautiful."
Rocky whistled softly. "Grace is kind in front of Adrian. Not always so kind when just us."
He was teasing. Adrian could hear it in his voice, but they could also hear that he was touched. There was a deep fondness to his words that betrayed just how much he loved the being from another world.
Hearing his speech with his companion from the stars also explained how his words had changed. Many times since his return, Adrian noticed his sentence order would falter or he would default to much simpler language when tired. The alien spoke well but it had a similar cadence to Rocky's errors in those moments. They had developed their own little rhythm, just the two of them.
"You are feeling better now?" Adrian asked.
The human extended a forelimb and wobbled the end in the air briefly before playing, "Yes and no. I am healing. It is slow. Not dying is very good though. I am grateful. Many many many thanks."
"Yes. Grace will not die," Rocky warbled. "I told you."
The alien showed the bones in its mouth again and spoke out loud in its language, a private moment for the two of them. Then it played softly, "Rocky won't die either. Rocky won't be alone again."
Oh.
Oh.
Adrian understood suddenly. It was not just Rocky who was unbearably fond. It was not just Rocky who couldn't handle another loss. Grace had been alone too, the only human they had. Grace had risked its life to bring Rocky home. The journey had nearly killed it. These two needed each other.
"Grace is kind," Adrian said softly.
The alien flinched slightly. "What?"
"I was scared to meet you," Adrian admitted. "It is one thing to build a habitat for my lover's alien."
"It's different actually meeting an alien," Grace said.
"Yes. Rocky said I should not worry because Grace is kind and you are." Then a thought occurred to them. "We are all aliens to you. You must be scared often, learning if each new person is kind or not."
Grace laughed but the notes were different this time. "Not scared. I get used to aliens."
Rocky hit the xenonite barrier. "Grace lies."
Grace quickly raised and lowered the protruding twin tops of his thorax where the upper limbs connected. It was a gesture Adrian had observed Rocky mimic but had not recognized until then. So many of his strange new gestures must come from his bond with Grace and their world of two.
"New can be scary," Grace aquiescences. "New is also exciting. Erid saved my life. I am grateful."
"You will not have to be scared much longer, Grace," Adrian told him. "I am helping build a strong habitat for you. I would love your help in describing how the lighting and color should be. If you would like I could bring samples of inside materials for you to choose?"
Grace vocalized briefly before playing, "Yes. I would love that. Maybe something to help build strength, question? I worry I-"
He paused and let out a woosh of air. Then he shifted towards Rocky and said something. When he finished his head was tilted at a slight angle. Trying to sense them better maybe?
Rocky chittered softly and translated. "Grace worried he will not be strong enough to stand on Erid. The surface gravity is too strong and his muscles are damaged from starvation. Grace needs help to get strong again."
Rocky clicked his fingers together and continued with his own words this time. "I could design something. Adrian and I could build together."
Oh. Of course. It's not just about energy. Grace had been deteriorating this whole time, losing the parts that allowed him to move. Adrian tried to imagine it and could not. It sounded like a horror from a story, decaying slowly from the inside. No wonder Rocky had been so terrified.
"That would be lovely," Grace said.
His features shifted again as he continued looking at Rocky. Adrian couldn't read his body language yet but they thought this must be what love looks like on his species.
"Grace is tired," Rocky said softly. A fond laugh was tucked under his words. "Sleep. We'll watch."
Grace let out a low rumbling sound and played, "You will make too much noise."
"No, we will be very good," Rocky said equal parts playful and genuine.
"Sleep," Adrian encouraged. "We will watch."
Really it was the least they could do. He'd watched Rocky sleep when no one else could. They could watch him sleep this time and any time after this.
Grace let out another woosh of air and shook his head up and down. The mouth bones showed again although the opening was slightly crooked this time. "Okay. If you insist."
"His sleep is very alien," Rocky warned in a whisper. "I will explain but we will have to be quiet."
"I look forward to finding out," Adrian said and, surprisingly, realized they meant it.