When they found out that Grace can participate in thrums the three were SO excited! Then they found out that thrums were much different with someone who perceives life so differently. Thrumming with other Eridians 'looks' like normal for them, they can just feel/see/sense what the others in the thrum do, and connect with their thoughts. Makes it easier to understand and see what they're saying. With Grace it's different because he has more senses than they do. And apparently thrumming allows Eridians to experience those senses too.
They start while the dome is still being constructed, so Grace has a lot of free time still stuck on Mary. Grace shows them Earth, his kids, classrooms, fondest memories, and even maybe some of the not so fond ones eventually. Then he is able to be moved to a temporary location on the ground to get him used to being planet bound, and his checkups start. At first, Rocky Adrian stay with him for them, but then Geace starts insisting they have their own alone time together after so long being apart. He can handle himself alone for a while, and his team seems capable. So they agree and start having dates that span for a few hours at a time, and then they agree to sleeping in their own home away from the suits and sterile walls and in their nest Rocky hasn't seen for decades. They go to thrums involving the saving of their star and what happened those many years away, and suddenly they will have spent over a few days at a time away from Their Grace. But it's ok because his team is capable and has the thinking machine to help them when Rocky cannot, right?
After a while of this Grace starts softly avoiding their personal thrums. Claiming headaches and that he's a bit too tired for them at the moment. Giving excuse after excuse, and Rocky Adrian go along with it. They won't preasure their beloved into something he doesn't want, even if they so love seeing him and themselves how he sees them. He's beautiful. They love him so much.
But then he starts getting quieter and he starts fidgeting like he would when the starvation started hitting him hard and he got nervous and scared all the time. There was even one day he asked if they could just lay in their nest in his house as he wanted a day with no big movement or strain. Just relaxing with his mates. They agree after some pressing on if he was ok, but of course he was. He would tell them of he wasn't right?
Then after over a couple months of him floundering for reasons to not want to thrum with them and them being suspiciousas to why he suddenly is so against it after expressing how much he loved it before and clearly missing it when they talk about other thrums, he hesitantly agrees.
Adrian sees them first. The yellow, and purple splotches all over his skin visible beyond his clothes. They are alarmed and question how humans change colors like this. Rocky is dead silent before very lowly asking "who." Adrian is even more confused. Rocky explains how human skin is strong in its own right but also fragile. It changes colors for many reasons. Fun, exertion, embarrassment, anger, being too cold/hot. But also being sick or hurt. These colors are from the later. Now Adrian is demanding to know who could have caused this.
Grace stutters, trying to claim that he's clumsy and that this stuff happens sometimes. But Rocky knows he doesn't bruise easy, Grace said so himself on Mary a couple times. Whatever did this was harsher than hitting a hip against a table. This is all over his body. Rocky then spys a bruise on Grace's calf and he recognizes the shape. It looks an awful lot like the scar on his arm.
Someone had grabbed him hard enough to leave a bruise. And by the looks of it, they'd been holding him down. And it seems it's been going on for a whole now based on the colors and how long Grace has been acting weird. He knew they'd see the bruises. They can't see the discoloration with their normal vision but they could with Grace's. Someone(s) has been hurting him. Why didn't he tell them?
Grace hastily explains its not that he doesn't trust them or anything. He just didn't want them to worry. Rocky's been away for a looong time and he deserved to be peaceful after everything and he didn't want to disrupt that. And he can handle a little too eager and rough doctors who don't understand how fragile his is compared to them (Even though he's told them multiple times that what they're doing hurts and they have all the knowledge they could need pre translated on Rocky's laptop he gave to them). Rocky Adrian refuse this line of thought. Grace has been through so much too! He also deserves to be treated nicely and to be able to be pain free and relaxed in his new home he gave his LIFE for!
They exit the thrum, holding each other softly. After a while of reassurance and gentle affirmations, Adrian, soft, kind, wonderful Adrian, is the one to get up and say they're going to demand a change of team. One they're personally going to pick out and help supervise. Grace is no longer going to be alone with a medical team until one of the 2 decide that they trust them with Grace, if that ever happens again. Grace insists it's ok and they didn't know, but Adrian is firm. No one or thing will ever hurt their mate if they have any say in it. And they do. Rocky agrees and stops Grace from trying to follow after Adrian by throwing a couple limbs over his body and pulling him in for a cuddle in the nest. He takes Grace's glasses off, folds them nicely, and sets them softly off to the side before playing with Grace's hair like they both like. Adrian's assertiveness with their desire to protect him and Rocky's tender care are so contradictory to how their personalities usually are, and it fills Grace with warmth and makes his eyes sting. He wriggles closet to Rocky and lets some tears fall as he clings to his smaller Mate. Rocky coos and promises that they'll take care of him. However, he needs them, and for as long as he'll have them. Which he finds ridiculous. He wants them forever. Needs them forever. He makes that very clear to Rocky.
Adrian returns to find them bundled up in the nest, Grace still sniffling into Rockys carapace and both clinging like they'll float away from wachother if they don't. Cute. They join in on Grace's other side, wrapping a long limb over both of them. They softly tell them how the new team will be better and has been demanded to research and learn all they can on the laptop and before they even think about even observing Grace from a distance Adrian or Rocky will be questioning them on important things the others have obviously been negligent with.
Later, when they watch Grace sleep, Adrian tells Rocky how the doctors who hurt Grace have been stripped of their licenses and the only way to get them back is they have to go through schooling all over again no options to graduate early. And their testing will be more monitored to make sure they have actually learned. That and they will never step a claw anywhere near Grace again... and maybe also Adrian might have thrown claws with a couple of those guilty and lets just say those involved will need their own doctors now and Adrian walked away injury free. Rocky purrs with satisfaction and scooches himself and Precious Grace closer to them. His purring tappers off as he falls into his own sleep cycle wrapped in his mates limbs. Adrian has defended and protected their mate. Adrian has fixed the problem and made sure it will never happen again. Adrian will watch them sleep now.
