Adding onto my post about Grace and Rocky having separation anxiety once they reach Erid because many of you lovely people have mentioned this in reblogs - Grace being severely malnourished when they arrive would ABSOLUTELY make matters 10x worse.
He gets increasingly worse as the years go by, and by the time they reach Erid, Rocky is in full panic mode because at this point Grace might not make it and what will he do if Grace doesn’t make it? After everything they’ve been through, after everything Grace has done for him - it’s not fair.
Rocky is borderline inconsolable when they arrive because he doesn’t know what to do and trying to explain everything to his people in a succinct enough manner that gets Grace’s needs across quick enough for them to start working on a solution right away is difficult. He can’t even give Adrian the attention that he wants to, can’t fully process their reunion, because he can think of nothing but making sure that Grace is safe and healthy and no longer nearly incoherent through the pain he’s in.
It takes time - time that Grace doesn’t have - for them to figure out how to house him and synthesize a food that will properly sustain him. Rocky spends every waking moment with him, keeping him company and watching him sleep (which he does more often than not.) He checks his vitals obsessively and listens intently to his heartbeat (less strong than it used to be.)
They finally build accommodations for Grace and figure out the meburgers, but even then it’s not easy. Grace is so weak that he can’t even get out of bed on his own (Rocky can hear how painfully prominent his ribs and hips are) and his emaciated body large and by rejects the hearty food at first. He spends long nights hunched over, vomiting up the nutrients he needs to live, his entire body trembling and tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes. Rocky spends those nights glued to his side, urging him to eat for the sake of what he can keep down, humming words of comfort.
It’s putting a strain on Adrian - Rocky can tell. He wants to give his mate his undivided attention, he just can’t. Not until he knows that his best friend is going to be okay. Not until Grace gets his strength back and can keep food down. Adrian understands, Rocky knows, but it doesn’t make it any less hard.
Slowly but surely, Grace starts to get better. He still throws up some, but each day he’s keeping more and more down. He gets to where he can sit up in his own, then stand. His skin grows less gaunt and does a better job covering his bones. The day he works up the strength to smile at Rocky…well, Rocky knows that if he could cry, he would be sobbing.
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