Fandom: Project Hail Mary x Iron Lung (Bloodymary)
Word Count: 2542
Lee!Grace, Ler!Simon
Summary: Grace is being a little shit and won't go to sleep, so Simon tries to make a deal using a game that Grace taught him.
AN: Originally put in a request for a fic with this premise... But I don't think it's being used, so I'm doing it myself :3
“Simon Simon Simon!”
Simon immediately looked away from the screen of the projection room, alert instantly. He scrambled to his feet, already in front of Rocky’s xenonite ball.
“What?? What happened??”
“Calm! Simon dramatic.”
Simon huffed softly. “Well you sounded panicked. You can’t do that and expect me to not freak out a little bit.”
“Dramatic,” Rocky repeated.
Simon dragged his hand—his real one—down his face, his words muffled slightly. “Okay, what’s the matter?” he asked through a sigh.
“Grace being stupid. Grumpy. Angry. Mostly stupid.”
“Are you just wanting to insult him or is there a real problem here?”
“Not sleep! Stupid because no sleep! Rocky no can convince. Simon Grace mate, so Simon convince!” Rocky explained.
“Is he ever gonna learn to go to s— Wait. Mate? Rocky, he— He’s not my mate.”
“Mate. Simon Grace in denial.”
“I’m gonna mute your translator.”
“Again. Dramatic. Go get Grace sleep!”
“Fine. Just— drop the mate shit, okay? We’re just friends,” Simon tried again.
“Denial!” Rocky said as he scurried away.
Simon sighed. It’d taken a while for Simon and Grace’s interactions to not be awkward anymore, even longer for them to actually become friends. He didn’t want Rocky to ruin that with all his ‘mate’ talk. It’s not like he hadn’t… considered it before. But there were far too many risks there. If anything went wrong… Well, they were stuck on a small ship with a blunt alien who wouldn’t make things any easier.
Sure, he caught Grace staring sometimes, but that was just because he was a scientist. Of course Simon was interesting to him with all his… mutations. And the times he sought out Simon to talk or hang out was just because they were friends, and Grace hadn’t had any human contact in who-knows-how-long. The times Grace comforted and held Simon after his nightmares? That was just Grace being Grace. He wouldn’t just let someone suffer without trying to comfort them.
So yeah. It was too risky to consider something that was so likely to go wrong.
He headed to the lab, where Grace was hunched over a microscope. Even with the discovery of… whatever it was that killed and threatened stars (Astro something?) and its predator (some kind of amoeba), they still fascinated Grace to an extreme amount. He was constantly studying it, and it was cute how invested he was.
Wait. Cute? No, not cute. Just… Never mind.
“Rocky’s on my ass about getting you to bed. When was the last time you slept?” Simon asked, his arms crossed as he leaned back against the table.
“Uh… It hasn’t been too long,” Grace answered. He looked up from the microscope, meeting Simon’s eyes with a smile. The smile he always gave when he talked with Simon, the one he loved to see.
Simon raised a brow, giving him a look that screamed ‘Really?’.
Grace cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, fine. …About three days?”
“Uh— Three days?? We went to bed at the same time the past two nights. The fuck did you do, wait till I fell asleep then snuck out?”
Grace gave his own look, one that very sheepishly said ‘Maybe?’.
Simon huffed through his nose softly, shaking his head. “Alright, c’mon,” he said as he walked by Grace and grabbed his arm to pull him away.
“Si! I’m close to another breakthrough!” Grace nearly whined.
“You always say that.”
Grace pulled his arm out of Simon’s grip. “I’m fine, I’m a fully grown adult—”
“Okay, then act like one and go to sleep at a decent fuckin’ time, and maybe I wouldn’t have to drag your ass to bed every night.” Even as he berated him, concern laced his voice through the growl in his voice.
“Simon, really. I’ll live.” Grace sat down in his chair, taking his glasses off and hooking them onto his shirt.
“Simon says.”
Grace snickered, “Simon, that’s not how it works.”
Ever since Grace had told Simon about the game ‘Simon Says’ from back on Earth… Yeah, Simon abused it often. How could he not? There was a whole game centered around doing what he said!
“Simon says it is.”
“Well, Grace says it isn’t. And Grace also says that he gets more time to study the Taumoeba.”
“It’s not called ‘Grace Says’. And the tow-moeba will be there in the morning.”
“Taumoeba. I’m not going to sleep yet,” he said as he turned around in his chair.
“...I’ll make you a deal.”
That got Grace’s attention, and after a moment, he swiveled right back around. “I’m listening.”
“I’m liking this Simon Says thing—”
“Really? I never would’ve guessed.”
“Shut up. It’s funny. So… We’ll keep it nice and simple. We’ll play a round. You win, I’ll let you work till you drop. You lose, and you go to bed. Deal?”
Grace raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? What’s the catch?”
Simon could barely keep the smirk off of his face as he held up his hands. “No catch. I swear.”
“...Okay. Deal.”
“Perfect.”
In all honesty, this probably wasn’t the best idea on Simon’s part. He knew the basic premise of the game, of course. But he’d only learned it a few days ago. He didn’t know if there were specific strategies or ways to throw Grace off. Meanwhile, Grace had several years of playing this game. …Maybe? He didn’t actually know how often people played it. Was it just children? Or was it a sport? Either way, his point still stood; Grace was much more familiar with this game than Simon was, so logically, this wasn’t the best idea.
However… Simon was, unbeknownst to Grace, giving himself an advantage.
“Simon says… Stand up.”
Grace stood up, his hands in his pockets. “You’re gonna make me humiliate myself.” It wasn’t even a question.
A small smirk crept onto Simon’s face. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t not say it.”
Simon shrugged slightly. “Raise your right hand.”
Grace didn’t move a muscle.
“Simon says… Do a handstand.” The idea was random, but he had to give Grace the illusion of this being normal.
“A handstand?? Simon, do you want me to die??”
Simon just shrugged again with a smug grin. “I mean, you can always just give up so we can go to bed…”
Grace gave him a dead-pan look. But he placed his glasses on the table and stretched out his arms, hyping himself up. Simon was doing his best not to laugh, though he was truthfully ready to catch or steady Grace… just in case.
Grace raised his hands and flipped into a handstand, actually managing to stick it for a few seconds. His shirt fell down to his shoulders, and Simon’s eyes widened slightly. He forced himself to look away from any exposed skin—he wasn’t a creep. He cleared his throat, ignoring the sudden warmth on his face. But then Grace began tilting forward slightly, trying to walk on his hands to keep himself upright.
“Shit!” Simon stepped forward and grabbed Grace’s legs. He chuckled as he helped get Grace’s feet back down on the ground and grabbed his arm to hoist him up. “Didn’t even last four seconds.”
“Shut up, that wasn’t voluntary!” Grace shoved Simon paired with laughter of his own.
“Woah, Simon never said to shove!”
“That’s not how it works!”
“Fine, fine. …Simon says lay down.” Finally his plan was going into action.
“Uh… weird, but okay.” Grace laid down on the ground with his hands folded over his stomach.
Simon’s laughter had faded, his smirk returning and taking over. “Simon says put your arms above your head.”
Grace seemed confused, but reluctantly followed directions.
“Now, Simon says keep ‘em up there.”
“This better not be what I think it is. …Simon, do not!” Giggles already began spilling from Grace’s lips just from Simon taking a knee next to him.
“What?? I haven’t even dohohohone anything!” Simon chuckled.
“Yet!”
“Hey, you can always just put your arms down so we can go to bed.” Simon grinned as he straddled Grace’s hips. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was damn proud of himself for this idea.
“...You suck.”
“What was that?” he asked, reaching out to run his nails up and down Grace’s side. He let out a squeak and tried to curl his body away without moving his arms, burying his face into his right one.
“Sihihihihimon! This isn’t— fahahahahahahair!”
“Seems pretty fair to me. You agreed to play.”
“You sahHAHAID— thahahahat thehehehere WAHAHAhahsn’t a cahahahahahahatch!!”
“Yeah… I lied,” Simon said without even a hint of shame in his voice. How could he feel bad when Grace just looked so damn cute?
“Yohohohohou SOHOHOhohon of a bihihiscuihihihihit!!”
“Language, Angel,” Simon chuckled, knowing damn well he was being a hypocrite.
“You— Yohohohohou say thehehehehe f-wohohohohord— EHEHEHEHEVERY HOHOHOHOHOUR!” Grace squealed and arched his back as Simon buried his very bearded face into Grace’s tummy and blew a raspberry right below his belly button. Grace was holding onto his blond hair, tugging it in his attempt to keep his arms up.
“Don’t rip your hair out,” Simon chuckled as he sat back up.
“Dohohon’t— act like ihihihihihit’s not yohohohohohour fault!” Grace retorted through residual giggles.
“My fault? You’re the one who agreed to play the game. And right now, Simon says keep your arms up. Simon also says… don’t laugh.”
“What!? Si—” Grace shut his mouth immediately when Simon began drawing slow, torturous circles in the scientist’s armpits. Simon watched as Grace buried his face into the side of his arm in an attempt to muffle any giggles.
“Remember what happens if you lose,” Simon teased with a smile, laughing when Grace squealed behind closed lips because he was now tickling along the blond’s neck. He could feel Grace’s feet pounding against the ground underneath him, which did nothing in his favor.
When one hand scratched behind his ear with the other one scratching at his tummy, he finally dropped his arms and started trying to push Simon off. “OKAHAHAHAHAY o— ohKAHAHAHAHAHAY! I GIHIHIHIHIHIVE UHUHUHUHUP— SIHIHIHIHMohohoHOHON!!”
“I dunno… I think I gotta make sure you’re fully tuckered out.” Simon grinned, reaching back and squeezing up and down Grace’s thighs. Grace squealed once more, grabbing onto Simon’s legs while his own thrashed and kicked.
“Geez, Ryland, nearly kicked me!”
“IHIHIHIHIHIHI’M— sohohoHOHOHORRYHYHYHYHY!!”
“Nope, that’s a punishable offense. And you, Sir Savior… have been sentenced to more raspberries,” he said gravely, as though he’d just condemned Grace to death. He began slowly, oh-so-slowly, leaning downwards.
“NO! No no no Sihihihihihi— we can talk ahahahahabout— THIHIHIHIHISAHAHAHA SIHIHIHIMOHOHOHON—!”
Simon’s face was currently buried into the side of Grace’s neck, his own face a bit hot from the proximity.
C’mon, Butcher, get a grip. You’re just tickling him, get your mind out of the gutter.
If Grace had the same thoughts, he was far too preoccupied with the raspberries Simon was blowing over and over again. The side of his neck, the back of his ear, his shoulders, his collarbone, making sure to use his beard to contribute. Grace was shrieking and laughing, back arching as he held onto Simon’s shoulders.
Simon gave him a final raspberry on the inside of Grace’s collarbone before finally pulling away slightly—the sight made him melt. Grace’s hair and shirt were disheveled, his face red and his eyes closed as he took in air through residual giggles.
“You okay, Angel?” Simon asked, his voice softer.
“Y— Yeheheheah…” Grace giggled, opening his eyes to look up at Simon. …Which was when Simon realized he was probably a little too close. They gazed at each other in flustered shock before Simon cleared his throat and sat up fully.
“Good. That’s— Good. C’mon, it’s time to get you in bed.” Simon stood up, crossing his arms as he smiled fondly down at Grace.
“Nooooo…” Grace rubbed his face, yawning.
Simon chuckled. “Seems like the tickling did a good job of tiring you out, huh?”
“Shut up.”
The brunet extended a xenonite hand to help Grace up, who took it gratefully. Simon hauled him up, and wow, did Grace look exhausted. He looked dead on his feet.
“...Alright,” Simon muttered to himself before scooping Grace up in a bridal carry.
“Woah—!” Grace exclaimed, holding onto Simon’s shoulders. “Simon, I can walk.”
“Yeah, but you looked about two seconds away from face planting, so I’m saving you from a broken nose and a pissed off Rocky.” He stayed put for another second in case Grace actually wanted down… but instead of protesting, he just closed his eyes and hesitantly rested his head on Simon’s shoulder.
Was that… no, no. That blush was just residual from the tickling. It had to be. Simon’s, however? …What blush? There’s no blush. None.
Simon walked to the sleeping quarters, admittedly struggling a bit with getting down the ladder while holding Grace. But he could feel the blond dozing off, and he’d be damned if he made him get up.
After a bit of struggling (and nearly slipping a few times), Simon made it down. He laid Grace down in his bed, smiling softly and pulling the blanket over him. He gave his friend one last longing look before turning to leave. But Grace’s voice made him stop in his tracks.
“Si?”
Simon whipped around. “Yeah?”
“...Can… you stay?” he asked, his words a bit slurred from sleepiness and his eyes only halfway open.
“...Huh?” Did he hear him right?
“One of the reasons I haven’t been sleeping… is because I’ve been getting nightmares.”
Simon’s brows furrowed. He knew all too well about nightmares. “About what?”
“...The beetles. That they… never made it back to Earth. I— I keep seeing my friends…”
Simon sighed softly. “Why didn’t you tell me? Fuckin’ idiot,” he said affectionately.
“I didn’t wanna worry you.” Grace yawned.
“You’re not worrying me, dumbass.” Simon hesitated before gently carding his fingers through Grace’s hair.
Grace leaned into it, sighing softly.
“I’m sure the beetles made it back. Hell, you sent four of ‘em. What’re the chances that they all didn’t make it? Don’t answer that question,” Simon said when he saw Grace start to open his mouth. “It’s not your responsibility anymore, Ry. You did your part. You did all you needed to do, and you were fuckin’ awesome while doing it. Okay?”
A soft grumble in response.
“Okay?” Simon repeated, moving to lightly scratch behind Grace’s ear.
Grace snorted softly, giggling and curling up. “Okahahahahay, okay!”
Simon snickered softly and retracted his hand. “But, to answer your question… Yeah. I’ll stay with you.” He crawled in bed with Grace, giving him as much space as he could. But when Grace cuddled up with him, oh, all willpower shattered. How could he not cuddle back?
Grace exhaled softly, face nuzzled the slightest bit into Simon’s chest. “...Night, Si…”
Simon smiled. Maybe it was because of the shock that wow Grace wants this too, maybe it was the fact that Grace had been getting nightmares, maybe it was because Simon was tired as well… But he softly placed a kiss to the top of Grace’s head, really hoping he wouldn’t regret it later.
“Goodnight, Angel.”
For the first time in a week, Grace slept nightmare-free.
Sorry if this one’s a little weird lol but I’ve been thinking about Simon developing a prehensile tongue, better to grab and eat fish with and to eat Grace’s tummy too of course!
In most (with some exceptions) of my mer!simon au stuff he has a prehensile tongue and I actually head canon that between the tongue and other teeth mutations around his mouth, he finds it incredibly hard to talk and that’s why Simon speaks very little if not at all! Hope you all enjoy, and think you all for the love I’ve been getting, I love you all <3
AN: I’m baaack! Sorry I haven’t been posting as much as I used to, but I’ve still been dealing with a lot personally. But the project hail mary/iron lung hype finally got me back in the game lmao. I couldn’t let y’all have all the fun!
This is the winner from that one poll awhile back, so hope you enjoy! I’m hoping to get back into writing & posting more frequently, but that all depends on how kind life is to me. Kinda not wild about the ending, so be nice
From the moment Simon gained consciousness on the Hail Mary, he was cursing. "Fuck" was practically his favorite word, but only the other human aboard the ship could understand the expletives grumbled under his breath. Not that Simon was aware. That damn rock understood just about everything else; why would swearing be such a foreign concept?
Rocky was deeply familiar with Eridian swears and insults, but Grace hadn't been too keen on adding their translations.
"The last thing I need is for you to cuss me out. You already call me stupid on a daily basis," he teased with a chuckle, but Rocky didn't find it as funny.
"Rocky need space, statement," he said, turning around in his ball and walking away.
"C'mon Rock, don't be like that," Grace called out after him.
Rocky paused, rolling closer to his friend as he answered. "Rocky check on Simon. Will be back later."
"Oh, okay," Grace accepted the answer easily enough. He opened his mouth as if to add something, but stopped himself short. "Ah, nevermind," he waved a hand, as if in dismissal.
The movement caught Rocky's attention. "Nevermind what, question?"
Grace shook his head. "It's stupid."
"Okay!" Rocky chirped in agreement, about to head on his way, when Grace's voice stopped him once more.
"Just- make sure he knows he's allowed to go wherever he wants. He only really hangs out in the green room and observation deck, and I just want him to feel comfortable here."
"Rocky tell him!" he agreed before rolling down the hall.
~~~
Simon could hear Rocky coming a mile away. The loud thunking wasn't exactly stealthy.
"Simon!" he exclaimed, announcing his presence. Said man looked over, arching a brow quizzically.
"Rocky..." he answered, unsure what the alien wanted. They rarely interacted one on one, mostly due to Simon's own hesitance.
"Rocky need favor, statement," he said, cutting to the chase. Simon tried not to appear as tense as he felt.
"... Well, that depends. What's the favor?"
Rocky rolled his ball further into the room, moving closer to Simon, but still keeping a small distance between them.
"Need new words," Rocky admitted, carapace lowered in something akin to disappointment or frustration.
Simon snorted. "Do I look like a fuckin' dictionary? Go ask Grace," he dismissed, but Rocky wasn't having it.
"No!" he stomped to assert his point. "Grace not share human bad words! Those are words Rocky need!"
Simon was hiding a smile behind his hand, holding back amused laughter. "Is that so?"
Rocky went still, his voice monotonous. "Simon laugh at Rocky."
Great, now he felt bad.
"No I'm not!" Simon denied, but Rocky continued to stare. "I was… laughing at Grace," he insisted. Rocky took a few steps closer.
"Why, question?"
"Because he's a such a nerdy goody two shoes," he said, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. "I mean, who gatekeeps curse words from an alien?"
"Hm. Don't understand," Rocky said, hoping for clarification.
"What, gatekeep? It's slang for withholding information," he explained.
Rocky hopped up and down, stomping his feet with excitement. "Yes! Grace gatekeep!"
"Well that's just not fair," Simon agreed, allowing his infectious energy to rub off on him. He walked over to grab the nearby laptop and translator, placing it in his lap as he sat back down. "So, how 'bout we start with the worst ones and work our way down from there."
~~~
"With insults, they're more or less interchangeable, but it depends on the situation."
"Hm. Need example."
Simon shifted, leaning his left side against Rocky's ball for support. "Okay... so say we're both walking down the street and I bump into you without saying excuse me. I'm being an asshole. But if I see you walking and go out of my way to run into you, then I'm being a dick."
"Dick worse than asshole, question?"
The phrasing was so unexpected, Simon couldn't help but burst into laughter, nodding, "Yeah, you got it bud! But really, it's a matter of what feels right in the moment."
"Rocky need more examples." He didn't really, but this was the most he'd heard the new human speak, and as it turns out, he was rather funny.
"Ohokay, okay, here's one. So if you tell me to do something and I refuse for a stupid reason, I'm being a whiny little bitch. Got that?"
"Whiny little bitch," Rocky repeated, beaming with pride at his expanded vocabulary.
"You think you got it, or you want me to keep going?"
"Rocky understands now."
"Glad I could help," Simon said, patting the glass of his ball as Rocky rolled by.
Before he left, Rocky paused in the doorway. "Simon, question?"
"Yeah?" he cocked his head, glancing over at him.
"Why Simon not leave room, question?"
Simon sighed. He figured it wouldn't be long until one of them asked that question. He rarely left the onboard greenhouse ever since he'd first laid eyes on it.
"I just really like this room," he shrugged.
"Bullshit, statement."
Simon's lips quirked into a tight smile. "Already putting those words to good use I see," he said, hoping to deflect. When Rocky didn't respond, he continued, "Where I came from, we only had one tree left. And when it finally died, that was it. So seeing so many plants- alive and in space, thriving... I don't know. It just feels comforting, I guess."
Rocky thought for a moment before speaking. "Is same reason Simon leak when see stars, question?"
Simon's breath hitched in his throat. He wasn't expecting the conversation to take such a turn after their crash course in Swearing 101. He nodded, voice barely above a whisper, "Yeah..."
He flinched when he felt something touch his leg, looking up to see Rocky reaching through the mesh panel to rest a comforting claw on his knee.
"Grace, Rocky save stars! Save plants!" he explained.
"Yeah, you did..." Simon trailed off, a sad smile on his face as he fought back tears.
He stood abruptly, startling Rocky as he stretched and groaned loudly. "Now if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna go look at those stars," he said, walking off towards one of the large windows.
"Okay. Rocky go share new words with Grace!"
"Go easy on him, tiger," Simon teased from over his shoulder, unsure if Rocky even knew what a tiger was.
Rocky gave a small nod and went in the opposite direction, shouting down the hall as he went, "What the fuck Grace doing, question?"
From further down the hall, another, more confused voice, "What?"
~~~
It hadn't even been an hour before Rocky came back, barreling towards Simon with Grace not far behind.
"Bad, bad bad. Rocky piss off Grace," he said, rolling around Simon to hide behind him.
"Well that was fast," Simon mused, almost impressed. He quickly schooled his features when he noticed Grace standing before him, hands on his hips. His jaw was clenched, foot tapping in annoyance as he awaited an explanation.
"Oh, hey Grace. Sooo... to what do I owe the pleas-"
"You taught him how to swear?" It sounded less like a question, and more of an accusation. Simon didn't see any reason in denying it.
"He asked," he said with a shrug, turning to look out the window to hide his growing smirk.
"Of course he did! But that doesn't mean you give him a whole arsenal!"
"He asked nicely?" Simon tried again, turning back around only to be met with an icy glare. Simon stared down at their companion, brows furrowed, "Jesus, what all did you say?"
Grace didn't give Rocky a chance to answer, "Oh he said plenty."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" he asked, biting back a chuckle.
"Like, "what the fuck are you doing Grace!" "No dumbass!" "Stop being such a whiny little bitch!" "Why Grace so fucking stupid!"" he listed them off one by one, growing more exasperated as both of their amusement became apparent. Simon's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter, having to lean against the wall for support as Rocky let out a few giggly trills.
"Oh, I suppose you two think this is funny," he said, cocking his hip as he shifted his weight.
"Yes!" Rocky cheared before Simon shushed him, reigning in his own reactions. He cleared his throat, donning a serious expression.
"No, you're right. It's not funny," he admitted, waiting until Grace's tense posture slackened from the apology. "It's fuckin' hilarious."
He didn't bother holding back anymore, bursting into loud hysterics.
It was the first time he'd heard Simon really laugh, and it was an infectious, carefree sound. He just didn't like the fact that he was the butt of the joke.
Having no other options to turn to in order to make them shut up, Grace resorted to what he knew best.
"Okay, I'm gonna need you to catch a bubble," he said in his stern "teacher voice."
"What?" Simon wheezed, looking between Grace and Rocky, doubling over. "What does that even mean?"
Grace could feel the heat rising to his cheeks as they continued to mock him, but despite his growing embarrassment, he found it increasingly difficult not to smile.
"Means Simon shut the fuck up, statement," Rocky explained.
"Well that's not very nice," Simon mused, a smug grin tugging at his lips.
"That's why I said catch a freaking bubble!" He had to take a deep breath to calm himself back down. He loved Rocky, and Simon was really growing on him, but gosh darn it did they get on his nerves sometimes.
"Careful there, you almost said a bad word," Simon snickered, fist bumping Rocky through the mesh material of his ball.
"Alright, that's it!" Grace clapped loudly to grab their attention. "Apologize. Both of you," he demanded, pointing sternly at the perpetrators.
"Wha- me?" Simon sputtered, caught off guard by the unexpected request.
"Yes you!" Grace insisted, not backing down from his stance. Simon looked him up and down, relaxing with a smirk.
"Why? What're you gonna do about it?" he taunted, relishing in the way his mouth hung open in shock. "Probably nothing."
"Oh I'm gonna do... something," he threatened weakly.
"Yeah, I'm really shaking in my boots," he drawled, sitting back down on the windowsill.
Grace huffed indignantly. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"
"So I've been told."
Grace rubbed his face from under his glasses, knocking them askew. He hated that Simon was right; he probably would do nothing. It's not like there was much he could do in way of punishment- wait.
A sly smile graced his features, standing up straighter with newfound confidence.
Rocky noticed the shift in demeanor, knowing it could only spell trouble.
"Y'know what? Fine, whatever. Water under the bridge," Grace said, slowly walking closer to his target. Simon only gave a noncommittal hum in response. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before sitting a bit too close to Simon.
"Simon should run now, statement," Rocky tried to warn, only to be brushed off.
"Nah, don't listen to him. We're good!" As if to prove his point, Grace slung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him even closer.
Simon arched a brow quizzically, leaning back to study the other man's face. Grace caught his eye, flashing an innocent smile.
"Run! Simon! Simon, run!" Rocky tapped against his ball, and maybe he should actually listen to him.
"Uh, yeah, I'm just gonna-" Simon made to stand, only for Grace to pull him back down.
"Hey, where're you goin'? Just relaaaax," he reassured, giving his shoulders a friendly shake.
"Um, okay..." Simon trailed off, trying to scoot away to put some distance between them, but Grace's grip was surprisingly strong. "Are you sure you're not still mad? 'Cause-"
"What? Nooo, no no. If I was mad, would I do this?" he asked, squeezing up and down his side.
Simon flinched beneath the touch, barking out a surprised laugh before slapping his hand over his mouth.
"Why so shy all of a sudden? I thought you wanted to laugh! Or did you only want to do it at my expense?" he teased.
"Noho, that's not- shihihit don't do thahahat!" Simon snorted as he pinched down his side, squeezing his hip.
"Do what?" Grace asked innocently, continuing to knead around his hip. "Oh, this? Or do you mean this?" As he spoke, his hand jumped up to scratch in his armpit, careful not to get too close to the remaining stump. It had fully healed over months ago, but Grace still wanted to be careful.
"GAHAHAH!" Simon let out a giggly scream, jerking away from the touch and further into Grace's embrace. "You bahahastard!"
"Well now, that's uncalled for," Grace said, tweaking his ribs in retaliation. Simon sputtered through his laughter, trying to twist and reach with his right hand to fight him off.
"Ihihit's justified!" he argued, legs kicking and scrambling against the floor for leverage. Grace adjusted his grip, trapping him in a hug from behind and pulling him into his lap.
"Agree to disagree," he said, raking over his ribs with clawed hands. Simon snorted again, louder this time, and immediately tugged his shirt up to hide his growing blush.
Unfortunately, this made his shirt hike up to expose his lower stomach. Well, unfortunate for Simon. For Grace, it was just the opportunity he was looking for.
"AUGH! MOHOHOTHERFUHUHUCKER!" he cackled as a hand slipped beneath his shirt, kneading and scratching at bare skin.
"I wouldn't dream of touching your mother like that!" Grace gasped, giggling at his own joke as Simon growled through his laughter. His face turned a shade darker, but Grace couldn't tell if it was out of embarrassment, or frustration.
"Wihihill you just shut uhuhup?"
Or both.
"No, I don't think I will," he taunted, a smile evident in his tone.
"Nohohow I know why you're a teacher," he began, and Grace paused his movements to let him catch his breath and speak, curious where he was going.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, because you're a smart AHAHAHASS!" His words were cut off by deep, frantic laughter as Grace dug into both pits.
Simon leaned on him for support, conflicted between pressing his arm down, and reaching around to protect his left side. Grace smirked, vibrating a clawed hand into his stomach while the other played his ribs like a piano. Specifically, the left side of his ribs.
Simon threw his head back, mouth open wide as the sound of his mirth echoed throughout the small ship. He twisted back and forth in Grace's arms, unable to dislodge the probing hands as they wandered his torso.
"Grace only tickling Simon's left side," Rocky noted, startling them both at the reminder of his presence.
"Yeah, and?" Grace prompted, continuing to knead and pinch around his ribs.
"Simon only have one arm! Cannot properly defend himself, statement."
How was it that the living rock was the only one looking out for him?
"Yeah, and?" Grace repeated, smug sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Is mean!" Rocky exclaimed, stomping his foot for emphasis.
Grace barked out a laugh of his own, glasses falling askew as he cocked his head towards him.
"Nah, I'm being super nice, right Si?" he asked, rubbing his knuckles up and down his ribcage to prompt an answer. His fingers brushed against the edge of his gills, and Simon snorted loudly, desperately trying to shove him away.
"NOHOHO! Thihis ihihis cruel ahand unusual punishmehehent!" he cried out defiantly.
"I think I prefer the term funishment!" Grace quipped, tracing along the gill slits ever so gently.
"Ohoho brohohother," he groaned, trying his best to sound annoyed, despite the fact that this was the most he's laughed in years, maybe ever. Deep chuckles gave way to pitchy giggles and breathless snorts as Grace continued tracing his gills. Simon abandoned the idea of fighting him off and chose instead to bury his face in his hand, too embarrassed for Grace or Rocky to look at him directly.
C'mohohon, nohohot there!" he all but begged.
"Okay, then where?" Grace asked smugly, catching a glimpse of the blush rapidly spreading across Simon's face from behind his hand.
"Nohohowhere!"
"Sorry, but that answer's invalid."
"YOU'RE invahahalid!" he argued.
Grace can't help but chuckle, rolling his eyes as Rocky chirped in amusement. "Real mature, guys." Still, he supposed that justice had been served by now, finally deciding to grant him mercy...
Right after this.
"So, how do you feel about raspberries?" he asked casually, slowing his hands to a stop, but still trapping him in a hug.
"What, like the fruit?" Simon asked, confused and panting for breath. "Dunno, never had them. Why?"
"Then I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you've never had this kind either." He didn't give him a chance to ask any follow up questions, burying his face in the crook of Simon's neck, blowing a raspberry over the set of gills there.
The scream Simon let out was loud enough it made Rocky jump, backing away a few steps.
"Simon very loud, statement."
Maybe he was delusional from all the tickling, but Simon swore the bastard was teasing him.
"GRACE, WHAHAT THEHEHE FUCK?"
"Language!" Grace gasped, feigning shock. He pulled Simon's hair off to the side, allowing easy access to the other side of his neck. "Just for that..." he trailed off, letting the audibly large breath he took speak for itself.
"No wait- dohohon't!" anticapatory giggles fall past his lips as he tries one last time to make a break for it.
If Grace didn't know any better, he'd say he wasn't trying very hard to escape. Interesting.
His lips connected with the other side of his neck, blowing against his gills. Another shrill screech fills the air, dissolving into frantic, bubbly giggles as he tries to scrunch his neck.
"Thihihis ihihisn't FAHAHAIR!" Simon whines, finally managing to shove his face away and knocking his glasses off in the process.
Rocky scrambles to catch them, holding them out for Grace to take as his own amused chuckles die off.
"Thanks bud," he reaches for them, only for Rocky to yank them back at the last second. Grace rolls his eyes and tries again, only to fall for the same trick.
"Serves you right," Simon mutters as he catches his breath, a bright smile still lingering.
Grace still had a proud smirk plastered across his face, shrugging sheepishly. "You okay? I didn't go overboard, did I?" he asked, wanting to make sure he didn't push him too far. Simon huffed out a laugh, waving him off.
"Nah, I've dealt with worse. But you are horrible."
Grace snorted out a laugh, "Oh yeah?"
"Yes! I mean, you attacked a poor, defenseless amputee for no reason!" he said, sarcastic amusement evident in his voice.
"Well if you ask me, the amputee had it coming," he taunted. "Besides, you're hardly what I'd call defenseless."
"Whatever. That shit was excessive and you know it."
"You could've asked me to stop at any time," he noted smugly.
"I did!" Simon argued. Didn't he? Surely.
"Mmm, Simon say many things. Did not say stop," Rocky spoke up, earning a playful glare.
"Oh yeah? What do you know."
"Rocky know Simon very ticklish!" He was definitely teasing him now.
Simon let out an embarrassed groan, hiding behind his hand. "I'm never gonna live this down."
Rocky reached through the mesh on his ball to pat his leg comfortingly. "Is okay. Grace still most ticklish human."
"Okay, that's it!" Grace growled playfully. Rocky let out a string of giddy, nervous chirps before rolling down the hall.
Grace jumped up to give chase, but paused in the doorway, looking back at Simon. "So uh, we cool?"
He shook his head fondly, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Yeah, we're cool."
Grace smiled in relief, turning to chase after Rocky, but Simon's voice calling out stopped him in his tracks. "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook."
Doodle for you all! Don’t worry he’s very carful, he just wants a little bite! I thinks Simon just twitches the skin with the muted teeth just enough to lightly dig in over and over and it drives Grace up a wall! Also makes raspberry’s so much worse lol
Hehehe.. since requests are uh open.. anything w switch! Grace and switch!Rocky bc I love to see everyone's fav space blond all giggly but there's also so little lee Rocky.. so why not get the best of both if you're willing :3 /nf
If you don't feel like doing that just Lee Grace is fine hehe ^^
YES there is so little lee Rocky he needs to be knocked down a sassy peg or two sometimes please take this platter of zero gravity tickles
I headcanon that Rocky’s laughter just translates to just random chords and his habit of repeating words for emphasizing is just like.. tenfold
I adore your fics and your art and I'm eating your Simon design and hcs HUEHUE X3
Very scrumptious I love when you post, keep it up! :D 🫂
Awww thank you so much!!! I’m obsessed with him!! I don’t even know why I made that character sheet anyway I didn’t really follow the style I used anyway lmao here is some more ticklish Simon for you, I hope you all enjoy <33
titsay
prguitarman
jacobvanloon
gummygunk
blakekathryn
tangentwithtanner
