Bloom @snowiebloom - Tumblr Blog

Jul 16

Hi!! I've was reading Anemoia when I thought about a scenario where Astra gets her period and how the boys would react. but then I thought about how with the limited amount of food how maybe she rarely if ever gets her period and is unused to any pain that comes with it. Then I thought about how Simon might have never even heard of them and how he'd deal with his closest friend is bleeding heavily and is on the floor in complete agony.

Just thought it would be a cute, funny and angsty fic, but if that sounds too uncomfortable to write I totally get it and just love reading your other fics. thanks :3.

Small Mishap

Ryland Grace x Astra (OC) x Simon

Requested

Type: Hurt/comfort, fluff, slightly suggestive

Warnings: Descriptions of menstrual cycle: blood, cramps, mood swings, cravings, insecurities (all the fun stuff), a little spicy/suggestive at the end

Omg this is the first time I've ever had anyone request something for my personal oc series 🥹 Thank youuu, and I'm happy you enjoy reading my fics!! It means a lot 🫶❤️✨️

This will obviously be separate from the series, and also later when Simon is more accustomed to being around Grace so he's not constantly at this poor man's throat

If anyone would like to read my Anemoia series, you can find it here!

The feeling of movement beneath her roused Astra from her slumber, her eyebrows furrowing inwards while her eyelids screwed shut further. At first she didn't think anything of it, barely even registering the warmth of another body slipping out from underneath her form.

Normally she would've let herself fall back asleep after that small disturbance. She figured it was merely Simon getting up to use the bathroom or check on Grace in lab, something along those lines that he'd return back from. So she paid it little mind, sinking into the corner of the padded walls and floor to reserve the warmth his body left behind, seeing as the blanket had shifted away as well.

She didn't get very far, a grip on one of her biceps keeping her upright. A groggy noise left her in protest, her head lulling backwards a bit and her mouth scrunching up. In her exhausted state, she barely had time to think about the oddness of the interaction.

That was until the world around her suddenly flooded back in. The hand grabbing at her arm began shaking her, its movements alarmingly frantic. With it she heard a familiar deep voice, except instead of the low, raspy greeting she was accustomed to, she was met with a rising inflection in his tone.

Both actions were out of pure panic, and it finally had her mind and body jolting awake from the shock of fear it sent through her.

"..Shit, shit, shit!" A string of curses met her ears as her eyes snapped open, meeting a pair of wild, dark-brown and crimson irises and a countenance that made it look like he was on the verge of a breakdown. "Astra, you're bleeding! Fuck, how did this happen?"

With her brain still fighting the effects of sleep, she found herself squinting at Simon in confusion. At first she assumed he had another night terror, one that involved her and lead to his current reaction, blurring the lines between a dream and reality. Because she certainly didn't feel like she was injured anywhere, so she couldn't have been bleeding.

Then she saw his gaze flicker downwards with a grimace, to which she slowly followed his line of sight with a dazed blink. Right after she'd done so, her mouth dropped open, no sound leaving her as it formed a small 'o' shape.

Sure enough, there was a dark, crimson stain on the front of her pants. For a split second she felt an icy wave of dread crash down on her, her lungs squeezing in her chest as her breaths came to shuddering halt, the sight of that color enough to make her assume the worst.

In her dazed state, she briefly felt Simon squeeze her arm before he stood up, the sound of Grace's name reaching her ears as he rushed out of the dormitory. The auburn-haired woman remained where she was, curled up in the corner, staring down at the blood stain with an expression that flickered between horror and puzzlement.

It took a solid minute, but eventually her breaths resumed after her initial reaction. There was no searing pain, no injuries nor any new mutations sprouting out from her body. It'd been instinct for her brain to jump to the worst conclusion, especially after being caged in an iron death-trap, surrounded by nothing but the crimson liquid that tried to drown and deform them.

However, once she caught up to what was actually happening, her cheeks flared up to become an equally as bright shade of red. Obviously it wasn't some injury or alteration to her body, it was just her menstrual cycle—one she hadn't had in ages, in her own defense.

She wasn't sure when the last time she had one was. Given the limited food supplies at the station, her body had likely shifted into survival mode from the severe lack of calories, which meant her reproductive functions would stop as a result. Now that she was able to have regular meals, her body no longer needed to preserve energy.

It should have been seen as a positive discovery, that her body was no longer in starvation mode. However, the timing at which it decided to present that information to her couldn't have been more mortifying.

The longer Astra dwelled on it, the more she debated airlocking herself into space. For the first time in years she got her period, only to have it happen in the middle of her sleep while she was curled up with Simon, who somehow discovered it before she did.

Oh god. Did the blood leak on him? Is that how he noticed?

She was going to throw up. This was awful.

The sound of footsteps rushing along the metal grates of the passageway met her ears, and she found herself quickly curling into a ball. Her arms locked around her legs, crossed in front of her to hide the stain behind the baggy fabric of her pants, while her beet red face buried against the top of her knees.

Almost getting eaten alive by a blood eel was somehow less traumatic than this very moment.

A distraught Grace came barreling through the entrance, dirty blonde locks sticking in every direction and glasses lopsided across his face. Simon followed closely behind, only to rush past the scientist so he could join her side once more. One peek downwards and a smear of red on his pants confirmed her fears.

God, kill her now.

"What's happening?! Simon said you're bleeding? Did you have Armando check you over yet?" The blonde started rambling as he turned towards the cluster of robot arms with an incredulous stare. A huff left him, his arm gesturing towards the auburn-haired woman like she was actively dying. "Why aren't you doing anything? Some assistance would be nice!"

The robot's hand only tilted, shifting between the three people in the room like it had no clue what was going on.

Simon scowled, kneeling beside Astra as his hand went to rest on her arm—an attempt at comfort that made her feel the exact opposite. "Keep that fuckin' thing away from her. I grabbed you for a reason." He grumbled, his disdain towards the machine forever unwavering.

Grace let out a sigh, seemingly giving up when the robot didn't move and trailing over to the two. "It's a medical robot, Simon. The only thing that can help her if it's a wound that's bleeding as badly as you said it was." He pointed out in annoyance, before his gaze trailed back to Astra. "How bad is it? Is it from the mutations? I don't know what else would cause you to suddenly—"

"No." She abruptly cut him off before he could speculate further. It was the only word she could get out at first, a lump forming in her throat as the two men stared at her in bewilderment. She swallowed, keeping her gaze pointed at the ground to avoid any sort of eye contact. "It's, uh... I'm not hurt. I'm okay."

Simon's eyebrows pinched together, his lip curling upwards in a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. "Okay, my ass. The large blood stain on your pants says otherwise."

From where Grace stood in front of them, his tired eyes flickered back and forth between the two, silently debating on whether he should be concerned or puzzled—it was more so the latter at the moment. "If it's not a mutation, and you say you're not hurt, then I don't know what could have happe..."

As he trailed off his face shifted, lips pursing together and eyebrows shooting upwards like a light bulb just went off in his head once he crossed off those possibilities. She wasn't sure if she was relieved by that, or if she wanted the floor to eat her alive.

Her embarrassment must have been a lot more prominent to him now, judging from the way his expression softened with sympathy. "Is it, uhm... that time of the month?" He asked, the question sounding a bit awkward as it left his mouth with a subtle cringe.

Astra shrunk into herself further, able to feel the heat practically radiating off her own face. "...Yes." Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with humiliation as that one word almost got caught in her throat.

Yet that was enough to make all the tension leave Grace's body. He let out a long breath, his shoulders visibly slouching with the movement and his previously pinched countenance falling with relief. Meanwhile Simon's gaze narrowed on the man, uncertain as to what that reaction meant.

"Okay. Okay, that's good!" The minute those words left his mouth he pulled a face, realizing the phrasing sounded wrong in that context. "I mean, it's not good in that regard, but it's a lot better than what we initially thought it was. No injuries or mutations, so that's a relief."

By that point Simon was visibly lost, glancing between the two like he was missing out on an important detail. "What's a relief? What is it?" He asked with a frown, the concern in his tone still lingering.

The blonde scratched at the back of his neck, his face warming up as he tried to find the best way to explain it. "She's, uh, she's just going through her menstrual cycle. Which is actually a good sign, means her body has enough energy to... Nevermind." He abruptly cleared his throat, the flush on his face deepening from the unnecessary information he almost added on.

From the way Simon continued to stare at him like he'd grown two heads, it was obvious he had no clue what he was talking about. "Menstrual cycle..?"

Blue eyes stared back, his eyebrows furrowing together as he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. "Do you... Do you not know what that is?" Finally he managed to sputter out some words, sounding completely at a loss.

A loud groan from Astra pulled their attention over to her, only for her face to be buried in her knees, unruly auburn locks shielding her from their view. "Please, don't explain it to him right now. I'm already embarrassed enough." She pleaded, her voice muffled as she tried to curl into herself further.

"Right. Sorry." Grace quickly apologized with a wince, his hands wringing together in front of him like he wasn't sure what else to do from there. A man who was clueless yet worried sick, and a woman who wanted nothing more than to dissappear—not a great combination to manage. "Uhm... How about you go get cleaned up, and I can tell him what happened while you do. Is that okay?"

She gave a helpless shrug, unwilling to move her head and arms from the barricade she had created around herself. "Sure." Came her reluctant agreement, seeing as there wasn't anything else for her to do at that point. She couldn't hide forever even if she wanted to.

Grace hurried across the room, shuffling through the compartment where he kept his bag of clothes stored. Beside her Simon watched, his thumb subconsciously rubbing circles against her arm, trailing back and forth over pale, freckled skin and green scales. It was soothing, but not enough to dull the unease twisting inside her stomach.

The blonde came rushing back over, causing her to finally take a peek at the two. He stood beside Simon's kneeled form, holding a new pair of pants and boxer briefs in them—planet themed ones, which was cute. However, the reminder that she was currently wearing his clothes only made her feel ten times worse about the situation.

"Here! Some new pants and, uh, underwear." He offered with a sheepish smile, leaning down enough to where she could grab them after she slowly unfurled from her position. Then, as if he could see the regret clouding over those mismatched irises, he added on. "Don't worry about the stains, it's no big deal. I'll try to clean them later."

Astra didn't look convinced by his nonchalance, holding the clothes to her chest like a lifeline and avoiding further eye contact. "Mhm, thanks." Was her short and tense response, not yet moving from her spot as she reluctantly spoke again. "Can you two just... look away while I leave?"

Simon's puzzlement only worsened, whereas Grace nodded his head frantically. "Yes! Of course, not a problem." He agreed instantly, already aware of the reasoning behind her request, unlike the strangely quiet man beside him.

When she stood up he was the first to look away, and in Simon's uncertain state, he had yet to. So without thinking the blonde smacked a hand over his eyes, earning him a loud and startled, "What the fuck?!", while a beet red Astra scurried her way out of the dormitory.

She could briefly hear them start to bicker with one another as she hurried down the passageway, but she paid it little mind. The last thing she wanted to focus on was how they were inevitably going to talk about this whole mess.

Right now, all she needed was a hot shower to wash away the shame that was tainting her body.

Thankfully there were menstrual products on board, as revealed to her by a bashful Grace, who had to stick his arm through the doorway to avoid any glimpse of her when handing them over. To her a luxury that meant less suffering on her end, seeing as the C.O.I. never had any on the rare occasion she did experience it.

Now she stood inside the bathroom, auburn hair dripping and the new clothes damp against her skin, while she stared down at the discarded pair of pants and boxer briefs on the floor, stained a deep red in two spots. A couple of minutes had passed as she tried to will herself to leave. She knew she had to hand over the dirty articles of clothing over to Grace so he could attempt to clean them – clothes were limited amongst them, so he had to salvage what he could – but the longer she thought about it, the more she could feel the humiliation eating away at her.

There was a stinging sensation behind her eyes, her vision starting to blur at the edges as she remained rooted where she stood. Her throat started closing up, lips wobbling and eyes squinting as she struggled to hold back the tears that fought to escape. The embarrassment only worsened upon realizing she was about to cry over this whole ordeal, which in light of everything else she'd been through was practically nothing.

A hesitant knock met the door, causing her watery gaze to snap over to it. Not long after a voice called out, soft and laced with concerned, belonging to none other than Grace.

"Hey, you okay in there? Simon's been waiting since he wanted to make sure you were okay after I, uhm, explained it to him." He spoke carefully, as if he could sense her fragile state through the door. "He told me you finished showering a bit ago but hadn't come out yet. Just want to make sure you don't need anything else."

Astra sucked in a breath and slowly moved to open the door, the discarded clothes left out of sight from the doorway. As it slid open a stunned Grace met her gaze, though not for long as his brows creased upwards in worry.

"Oh, you're crying! What happened? Is the pain really bad? I think Armando has a medication that is for more moder—" He began to ramble admist his panic, only for a gruff voice to interrupt him.

"Obviously she's in fucking pain! You just told me one of her organs is bleeding and shedding!" Simon snapped, visibly distressed as he hurried his way over to the two. Clearly he hadn't been far behind when Grace decided to come check on her.

With a mumbled, "Move," Simon nudged the fretful scientist out of the way. His hand reached out, gently wrapping around one of Astra's arms to tug her forward, seemingly intending to guide her to the dormitory himself. Baffling, considering he hated that cluster of robot arms to his very core and did everything he could to avoid it—aside from sleeping there, he couldn't do much about that.

She was overwhelmed, both by Simon's words and his haste to take her away. Though she didn't budge at first, instead blinking away the tears from her eyelashes as she sent a confused glance towards the blonde.

In return he offered a sheepish smile and a shrug. "I mean, that is what is happening. Maybe I just didn't explain it very well."

Astra rose an eyebrow. "Did you explain it to him in detail? Or like a normal person?" She asked, even though she felt like she already knew what the answer was going to be.

There was a pause, one where those blue irises glanced between Astra's indiscernable expression and Simon's agitated demeanor, the two waiting for his answer. His lips parted, then closed with a grimace, before he forced himself to respond. "I guess I could've put it in simpler terms."

Internally she groaned from that response. Great, so now Simon probably thinks a menstrual cycle is downright horrific, and that she's in an unfathomable amount of pain from it since he didn't properly grasp how the overall process worked. At that point, Grace might as well have told him it was an injury.

"Whatever. You said Armando has medication for moderate pain?" When the blonde gave a quick nod of his head, she finally let herself relax into Simon's grip. "Okay, good. I'll need some of that."

The dark-haired man took that as his cue, already tugging her in the direction of the dormitory. Briefly she had to mumble about him slowing down, her shorter frame unable to keep up with his long strides. Though after that he began to walk far slower than normal, as if she were a frail deer being guided along, and she knew this was how it was going to be the entire time.

The rest of the day hadn't been too terrible, aside from the routine of having to go to the bathroom to clean herself up. She felt fine so far, but she wasn't sure if that was from the pain reliever she took as a precaution, or due to the fact it was only the first day.

Turns out it was the latter.

Around the afternoon of the second day, it already felt like her body was going through hell. It was horrible, far worse than any of the times she'd experienced her cycle at the C.O.I., which she knew was from the lack of food supplies. During those times her period had been light and brief, to where she barely took notice of it.

This however, she wanted to curl up into a ball and wither away. So she decided to do just that—aside from the dying part, though it felt pretty damn close to it.

Astra had been laying like that for some time, with her knees and arms tucked towards her chest, and a blanket sprawled across her body from head-to-toe. At the start of the day she'd set up her little camp in the simulation room with pillows and blankets, figuring that a changing scenery with various sounds could serve as a good distraction.

It did not, unfortunately.

The sounds of the ocean and its creatures did little to ease the the physical agony she was in, her lower abdomen twisting and churning like she was being torn apart internally. On top of that she had a splitting headache, the medication she took earlier not working as well as she'd hoped. So if anything, the combination of noise and brightness was making her more irritated than relaxed.

She didn't know where either of the boys were at the moment. Yesterday she'd taken the time to reassure Simon on the whole matter, seeing as he assumed she was literally dying for a second there. So she had to explain that while it was a painful process to go through, she would be perfectly fine afterwards with the small organ still intact. She had no clue how Grace described it to him – nor did she want to – but clearly it'd been terrible enough to where Simon interpreted the situation as dire.

Even after her clarification, he still looked skeptical and more puzzled than before, if that was possible. Though he didn't try to press further on the topic, which her embarrassed self was thankful for.

Now thinking back on that conversation, she just knew that if Simon were to see her at this very moment, he'd definitely call bullshit.

A groan escaped from her lips, another cramp wreaking havoc on her body and cutting off that train of thought. The auburn-haired woman curled further into herself underneath the blanket, her arms winding around her legs to keep herself as compact as possible. The sounds she once found to be comforting were now grating, like nails on a chalkboard that further worsened the pounding ache in her head.

Right as she debated forcing herself to get up and shut off the entire system, footsteps started trailing down the passageway before descending into the room she was in. From how loud and heavy they were, it was easy for her to identify the person as Simon.

The sound of typing reached her ears afterwards, before the noticeable glow seeping through the fabric of her blanket turned to darkness, the surround sound abruptly shutting off along with it. A wave of relief washed over her, the throbbing of her head slowly starting to dull from the silence.

"Hey." That one word was gentle, his deep voice uncharacteristically quiet, as if he were afraid anything louder would break her. "I brought you some food. It's your favorite, uh, whatever it's called."

The mention of food immediately got the attention of her grumbling stomach. Slowly she peeked her head out from her cotton barrier, her mismatched eyes landing on his tan complexion, that of which held furrowed eyebrows and an uncertain frown.

Then her gaze flickered downwards to land on the meal he'd prepared for her, balanced on a paper plate in the palm of his hand. Once she recognized what it was, her face lit up a bit. "Ravioli?"

A breath left him, his facial features visibly relaxing at the mere sliver of delight she expressed. "Yeah, that one." He confirmed with a nod, then gestured his head back towards the entrance as he added on. "Grace is looking for something else in the food storage. Says it's a surprise for you."

"Mm." All she gave was a hum of acknowledgment, shifting her body upright so she was sitting with her legs crossed.

She gratefully took the food from him, mumbling a soft, "Thank you," as she placed it in her lap. The blanket remained around her shoulders while she grabbed the fork, already digging into the warm meal and munching away. As the familar flavors of cheese, meat and seasoned tomato sauce spread across her tongue, she gave a pleasant sigh through her nose, any previous tension melting away from her body.

Food could always cure any issue of hers—also the man that had taken the time to prepare it just for her.

There was silence for a second as Simon hoisted himself onto the platform beside her. He settled against her side, his shoulder brushing hers while his hand went to rest on top of her knee. The pointed claws at his fingertips lightly scratched across the fabric of her pants as he traced random patterns there.

Astra spared him a glance, only to see him staring back at her. His face had scrunched up yet again, eyes locked onto her like he didn't know what to do next, but was desperate to provide some sort of comfort. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do aside from offering his presence—which was enough for her, honestly.

"How're you feeling?" That was eventually what he landed on to break the silence, wanting to gauge where her pain was at. "Do you need anymore pain relievers? I can go get some from... the robot thing."

She could hear his hesitancy with that last suggestion, one that almost made her laugh around a forkful of pasta. Dare she say it was adorable how badly he wanted to assist her in her time of need, to where he'd even go near the cluster of robot arms that creeped him out to no end. She appreciated the effort, regardless of the embarrassment that lingered deep in her gut.

"I feel awful." Astra answered honestly, making sure to speak only when she didn't have a mouthful of food. "But no, it's okay. Can't take anymore for a couple more hours, anyway."

A hum left him, followed by a gentle squeeze to her knee—a silent reassurance that he was there for her, even if he couldn't provide anything at the moment. Before he could speak again another voice interjected, and this time she did giggle aloud as the man closed him mouth and let out an annoyed puff of air.

"I found it!" Grace came stumbling into the entrance of the room, both of them turning to look at his head of messy blonde hair and the glasses dangling from his ear. "I know that women tend to have a craving for sweets during their cycles, but I wasn't sure if we had anything on board that met that criteria since all of it's mainly thermo-stabilized food pouches. Aside from the skittles I guess, but I figured you'd want to try something new!"

Unceremoniously he began to descend the ladder, struggling due to the fact he had three silver pouches in one hand. Once he landed on the ground, he wasted no time in clambering up beside Astra's other side, mumbling an apology when he accidentally bumped into her shoulder.

Once he was settled next to her, he grinned at the two, his entire face lit up like an eager puppy. "Turns out there's a compartment for freeze dried food items, too! And I found these!" He held up the metallic pouches like he'd discovered something extraordinary, each one with a vague label across it. "Pouches of freeze dried ice cream! There's only the three basic flavors, vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. But I thought you might like one of them."

Astra blinked, finishing up the last bite of her food while she stared quizzically at the bags. "I think I had ice cream once when I was a kid." She noted aloud, moving her hands away when Simon went to grab her empty plate from her lap to set it aside. "I don't remember the flavor. It might've been some kind of chocolate mixed with something else."

"Then you can have this one!" Grace decided, carefully setting the pouch labeled 'chocolate' in her lap. Then his gaze moved past her, holding the other two up for Simon's view. "Which do you want, Simon? Vanilla or strawberry. Did you ever get to have ice cream as a kid?"

Simon scanned over both bags, his eyes slightly squinted in contemplation. "No, not from what I can remember. Not many animal products on Mars, y'know." He mumbled, reaching out to grab the one labeled 'strawberry' from his hands.

Astra ripped hers open, peering inside to see the chocolate-colored pieces. They were uneven chunks, some bigger than others and a few crumbled at the bottom. By all means it didn't look appetizing, but if it tasted like chocolate then she didn't care.

She popped one of the larger pieces in her mouth, slowly chewing on the light yet crunchy texture, while the men on either side of her opened theirs. Almost immediately the rich flavor melted over her tongue, and she let out a small, satisfied noise. The skittles were sweet, but the fruity tartness that came with it had become unappealing to her cravings, that of which she only just now discovered.

Grace ate a piece of his own, all while watching her reaction with a smile. "I know it's freeze dried, so it's kind of a strange texture compared to normal ice cream. But it's still good, right?"

To that she bobbed her head up and down, completely focused on munching away at the yummy pieces of chocolate. Then a nudge met her left, bringing her attention towards Simon's outstretched hand as he offered a piece of the freeze dried strawberry ice cream—there were even little chunks of fruit within the block of pink.

She happily grabbed it, plopping the piece in her mouth as Simon's dark-brown and crimson irises scanned over her face. "Good?"

When she gave a hum in confirmation, he set the bag in her lap, allowing her to choose from the two flavors while he grabbed a couple of his own. It only took a split second for Grace to do the same, figuring it was best to let her try all of them to see which one she wanted.

"Most people think vanilla's pretty plain compared to those two. I'd argue it's subtle flavor makes it better." He commented mindlessly, munching on his own handful of the treat while she went to try said flavor.

As she chewed, she turned to the blonde and gave an approving nod. "I can concur with that statement." She replied, her voice serious yet with a playful undertone to it, clearly meant to razz him over that random bit of information.

An amused breath left him as he shook his head in faux annoyance, the movement nearly causing his glasses to slip off his face. Without thinking she reached over, carefully fixing them to rest on the bridge of his nose, before returning to her snack without any notice of the red hue that began to paint over his pale complexion.

Astra continued to eat away at the sweet treat, that along with their presence making it easier to ignore the pain for a little while. The two men remained huddled against both of her sides while she ate, seemingly relieved to see her more at ease now.

It didn't take long for Grace to start rambling about whatever was on his mind, nor for Simon to try and combat every word he said, the two bickering like they usually did. Either way, listening to them was a nice distraction, far better than her being curled up in a blanket, alone with her haywire thoughts.

The next day was worse—it always was.

Not only did it feel like her abdomen was being stabbed over and over again, with sharp aches and pains that rendered her immobile, but her mood had soured to the point she couldn't stand being anywhere near the two other people on the ship. Her brain had flipped like a switch, becoming exasperated the mere second she heard the slightest hint of movement that indicated they were nearby.

A part of her felt bad despite knowing it was simply an influx of hormones that was affecting her emotions. Grace had been more than patient and attentive to her needs regardless of how she acted, seeing as he knew more about what she was experiencing. So it came as no surprise that he backed off rather easily when she decided that she needed some space.

With Simon though, he didn't grasp what she was going through to the extent that Grace did, and was still lost on some aspects—such was the case with her current predicament. When she finally decided to push him away after his constant hovering was getting on her nerves, it was the first time she'd ever seen him look genuinely hurt, like a sad, wet cat left out in the rain after doing something wrong, and having no clue what that was.

His concern was heartwarming and she appreciated all he'd done for her, always offering whatever she needed and ensuring she was comfortable. However, he'd been glued to her side since the minute this whole thing started, and it was too much for her overwhelmed brain to handle at the moment.

The longer she thought about it, the more she felt like a terrible person. Why did she push him away? He was only trying to help her, they both were. She's almost positive Grace would explain it to him – hopefully less technically this time – but that didn't provide much comfort when she recalled that troubled look on his face.

Tears stung at the edges of her eyes, the knitted material of the fox themed cardigan bunched between her fingers. Grace had offered it to her before she could slink away to a random corner of the ship, slipping it off of his own frame as he claimed, "It'd be like he was there beside her without him actually bothering her." A silly yet sweet notion, considering she and Simon wore his clothes all the time, but she took it with her nonetheless—she got cold easily, anyway.

Recalling that moment made her feel ten times worse. She knew Grace understood what she was going through, yet she still noticed the reluctance in his mannerisms and how he was more fidgety than usual. Not to mention that man was always bursting with energy, that of which he appeared to be lacking afterwards.

She'd made the mistake of glancing back at the two when she departed, the sight of the two making her heart ache. Grace looked like a kicked puppy that was going to start whining, while Simon looked like a grumpy cat that was struggling not to follow after her.

God, she was a terrible person.

It'd been hours since she'd last seen them, aside from passing by when she had to get some food or go to the bathroom. Even then they respected her boundary, not a single peep coming from either as they merely spared her a worried glance, before continuing on with their own tasks.

Astra huddled into herself, burying her face against the knitted material of the sweater. A steady flow of tears streamed down her face, unable to fight them off as his scent washed over her, along with it a tidal wave of emotion that spread across her entire body. Pure regret seeped in, replacing the random spike of irritation that had taken ahold of her.

She shouldn't have pushed them away. That was the last thing she wanted, especially when she was left stationed in one spot from the amount of pain she was in. At least with them she could be in their arms, their heat and presence enough to soothe away some of her misery.

Without thinking the auburn-haired woman got up, wincing at the sharp, burning spasm that shot along her lower abdomen when she did so. Her legs had a mind of their own, leading her down the passageways until she ended up at her destination. As she stumbled into the lab she got two sets of eyes on her, each equally alarmed when they saw the state of her—rivulets running along her red, freckled cheeks, and her body doubled over in pain as one of her clawed hands mindlessly clutched at the area over her abdomen.

"I'm sorry." She blurted, the words spewing out before she could think twice. "I was so awful, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you guys away. I was irritated for no reason and– and I thought that being alone would help, but then I– then I—"

Grace quickly interjected, abandoning what he was doing to approach her with his hands lightly waving back and forth. "Hey, hey! It's okay. Just breathe." He soothed, resting a careful hand on her shoulder once close enough. "You didn't do anything wrong. It happens, mood swings are natural. Please, just take a deep breath. You're okay."

He rubbed gentle circles along there while she tried to follow his instructions, her breaths coming out too quick and shallow. Soon his hand shifted, running along her upper back in an attempt to calm her down, all while mumbling words of comfort.

It didn't take long for Simon to approach from beside him, her tear-filled eyes rising upwards to meet his concerned ones. Wordlessly he held his hand out towards her, a silent invitation that she accepted near instantly, her smaller hand slipping into his own and latching on like he was her lifeline.

"C'mon, let's go to the dormitory so you can lay somewhere comfortable." He began to gently tug her away, causing the blonde's hand to fall away from her back. "Grace has to finish up working on something." As he said that, he sent a pointed stare over his shoulder towards said man.

At first Grace blinked, confusion flashing across his face for a fraction of a second, until it clicked what he was working on prior to her appearance. Simon watched as his facial features shifted to realization, his own expression unimpressed when the scientist offered him a sheepish grin in return.

"Oh, right! That." He laughed nervously, waving them off when Astra's watery gaze turned to him with furrowed brows. "Don't mind me. I'll be there in a second."

Simon didn't let her question it, seemingly urging her along before she could. She chose not to pay any mind to the odd interaction, allowing him to guide her while she slowly relaxed from his touch. Even something as small as his hand engulfing hers was enough to calm that swirling pit of anxiety inside her.

It didn't take long for the two to get situated in their corner, where pillows and blankets were piled haphazardly. The beds were almost never used in the dormitory, seeing as they were too far apart and didn't allow for more than one person on them. So they had to make some of their own rearrangements.

The shorter woman wasted no time in curling up against him, her head resting against his chest, an arm wound around his torso, and a leg thrown on top of his, like a koala clinging to his side. His hand rested against her shoulder, keeping her close while his clawed thumb rubbed soothing patterns there. A content sigh left her, finally able to relish in warmth of his body against her despite the never-ending aching pains.

On occasion she'd suck in a breath that was a little too sharp, to which she felt his fingers tangle in her unruly, auburn hair the second time around. She melted into his touch, the massaging and subtle scrape of his short claws practically turning her brain into mush. If he kept it up, she'd end up falling asleep in in just a few minutes—not a terrible idea if it meant avoiding those cramps.

The sound of footsteps came rushing down the passageway, light and quick, distinctly Grace with the way his rhythm staggered as he likely tripped over his own shoe laces. Her eyes were closed, yet she could hear him as he entered the room, his little puffs of breath audible admist the silence.

"Okay, so—" He started talking as he walked over to them, keeping his voice at a low volume as to not disturb the half-awake woman. "I had to adjust the placement of the wires because it initially got too hot and burned my skin. I tested it again to check for anymore faults, and it should be in working order now."

As she heard shuffling beside them, she spared a glimpse at the blonde to see what he was doing. She couldn't tell from the angle she was at, only noticing the object in hand once he settled next to her—a long, rectangular surface covered in fabric with a cord running out of one end of it.

Upon seeing her stare from the corner of her eye, he held up the item with a proud, little grin. "It's a heating pad! Not sure if you had any of those at the C.O.I., but it'll help relax your muscles and reduce your pain, among other things."

Astra pivoted her body to the side a bit, enough to where she didn't have to strain her neck to see him. "No, they didn't have those. Didn't even have menstrual products. That sounds nice, though." She replied lazily, scanning over the pad with droopy eyes.

"Can you lay on your back for me?" He asked, lightly tapping her side with his free hand. She easily complied, her body nestled between theirs as she shifted to lay down flat on her back. "I'll place it over your abdomen and leave it there while it warms up. Hopefully you'll start feeling better in no time."

Astra gave a hum of acknowledgment, relaxing between the two while Grace pushed aside the cardigan and slid her shirt upwards. A shiver ran down her spine as his fingers brushed along her bare skin, one she swore was on purpose as it lingered for longer than necessary, even after the heating pad was correctly positioned across her abdomen. Not that she minded, any touch was welcomed at that point.

It didn't take more than a couple of minutes for the heat to spread across that area. There wasn't an instant relief by any means, though it did have some positive affects, such as making her feel more tired while the warmth spread throughout her body.

"Mm, it's nice." She murmured as her eyes fluttered shut, both of her arms laying against each of their legs. "You made it yourself?"

"We made it." Simon grumbled, clearly not wanting him to take all the credit for their collective effort.

It earned a breath of a laugh from her, while Grace flashed him a teasing grin. "I guess he contributed by welding the coils for it."

The dark-haired man scoffed, glaring back at him in offense. "You guess? That took most of the work. You just—"

"Shush." Astra swiftly interjected before he could get any further, lightly swatting his thigh and feeling him jolt beside her. "Don't start bickering, or I'm leaving again."

That was enough to shut him down—not without a grumble under his breath, though. She paid it little mind, only focused on the warmth engulfing her from all around, both the heating pad and their bodies flush against each of her sides keeping her nice and cozy.

Simon's fingers entangled into her hair once more, while Grace's hands found her right one to hold in his lap. The scratching across her scalp resumed, while the latter gently caressed his thumb across her knuckles and trailed his fingers up and down her forearm, tracing the scales and freckles that decorated it.

Needless to say once the pain began to lessen she fell asleep almost instantly, now with the comfort of knowing they were beside her.

When the forth day rolled around, her pain level remained moderately the same. Though her emotions were more haywire than before, cause of course she couldn't have just one normal day during her cycle.

They were lounging around the crew area, each of them munching on their own thermo-stabilized meals—a beef stew for Simon, a chicken creole with rice for Grace, and spaghetti and meat sauce for herself. Except she was the only one that hadn't touched hers, having been poking at it with her fork for the past few minutes.

During those three days, she'd eaten more than her fair share of the portions that were left on the ship. Even though Grace had a decent amount of the meal pouches left – seeing as the Hail Mary was originally stocked up for three crew members – rationing would be important until Simon's garden was sustainable for food. So, thanks to Grace's calculations, there was a limit to how much they should consume per day, one she'd definitely gone over by now.

It felt like she was wasting their supplies at that point, regardless if her body needed the extra energy. Even though she tried to remind herself that it was a natural process, that she couldn't have prevented it from happening, it didn't rid of the guilt that was building up inside of her. Nor did it stop the voice at the back of her mind, reminding her of every small thing she'd done wrong thus far. She was becoming a burden to them, and that sudden realization sat in her gut like a boulder.

The minutes ticked by with her reluctantly taking a bite here and there, her stomach desperate for food yet her appetite completely gone. Not once had she looked up from her plate, practically glaring at the spaghetti covered in sauce as she kept jabbing at it. She couldn't not eat it, that'd be a waste. But it was already a waste since she shouldn't have been eating so much in the first place.

Had she glanced up, she'd see that the two men in front of her were already finished with their meals. By then they'd taken notice of her poking around at it, the two sharing a look, before flickering back over to her.

"Hey, you okay? You've been stabbing at that spaghetti over and over again like it offended you." Grace pipped up, an uncertain smile on his lips and a humored tone that barely concealed the concern he felt. "If you're not hungry, we can reseal it into the pouch for you to have later."

Astra's gaze slowly trailed upwards, her lips pursed together and eyebrows pinched inwards. She remained silent, unsure of how to respond as she debated over whether she should admit to her shame or brush it off.

Ever observant, Simon caught onto her hesitation right away. "Something else wrong?" He asked, his voice gentle yet slightly imploring.

The auburn-haired woman paused, mimicking the frown he wore as she eyed her plate of pasta once more. Then with a sigh she released the fork, letting it fall aside with a dull clink.

She could've lied and told them she wasn't feeling well, which would've been believable in this case. However, she knew they'd only grow more worried and insistent if she suddenly refused to eat, so there was no point in avoiding it. These two always found a way to read her like an open book.

"I'm eating too much." She stated it like a fact, slumping forward as she went to rest her head in the palm of her hand. "I'm wasting our already limited supplies. Same with the medication, it should only be used for emergencies."

Simon's face scrunched up, his mismatched irises staring at her like she had grown a second head. "This is an emergency. You're bleeding and shedding an organ right now."

From beside him Grace sighed, his glasses shifting as he went to pinch the bridge of his nose. "She's not shedding the organ itself, Simon. It's just the lining inside the uterus. I told you that. Did you even listen to my explanation at all?"

"Yes, I did listen to your horrifically detailed explanation, Ryland." He bit back, the use of his first name causing the blonde to flush a light shade of red. "Whatever. Point is, your body needs more food than usual. It's not a waste."

Astra wasn't convinced, avoiding eye contact with the two as a lump formed in her throat. "I'll still be fine with the normal ration, and I can handle the pain without the medication. I don't need the extra—"

"Yes, you do. End of discussion." Simon was quick to cut her off, not wanting to hear any more of her unreasonable arguments. Then his eyes narrowed, his voice dropping into a low, challenging tone. "I'll feed you myself if I have to."

Astra almost choked on air as she sputtered, her mismatched eyes widening as a wave of heat rushed to her face. "Don't be ridiculous!" She balked, the sudden embarrassment that flared up inside her making her temporarily forget about the topic at hand.

A grin slowly formed on Grace's lips, matching the smirk that grew on Simon's—impish and unwilling to be deterred. Both of their gazes locked onto her, like a predator preparing to pounce on its prey, and she knew she was doomed from that moment onwards.

Oh no.

"I don't see you eating right now." The blonde pointed out, pretending to look contemplative despite his grin being a dead give away to his intentions. "I think you might need some help with that. What do you think, Simon?"

The woman shrunk away, light-green and hazel-brown irises frantically shifting between the two like a wild animal that was about to be cornered. "Don't you dare."

Simon nodded along, already starting to move from his sitting position. "I think you're right."

There was zero time to react as the two lunged across the short distance between them. A pitched squeal left her, an arm wrapping around her waist that she tried to squirm out of, to no avail as Grace pulled her flush against him and grabbed her face with his other hand. Simon went to grab a forkful of the spaghetti, all while she barely put up a fight against the blonde's hold.

"No! Let go!" She whined, though the words came out between uncontrollable giggles, taking away from the displeased tone she tried to express.

Grace laughed alongside her, his fingers lightly digging into both of her freckled cheeks. "Stay still! We need to feed you."

Simon raised the fork up towards her mouth, smearing some of the sauce on her lips. "Say 'ahh'."

The fingers on either side of her face squished inwards, encouraging her to open her mouth. With a defeated sigh she complied, allowing Simon to feed the twirled spaghetti into her mouth as she slowly chewed. She felt Grace's thumb drag across her bottom lip, swiping away a drop of sauce that was left behind.

After she swallowed, she glanced between their expressions, one smug and the other triumphant. "You guys suck."

"We know."

On the fifth day, the amount of cramps she was experiencing started to subside, much to her relief. Pain medication was no longer required since it was tolerable, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Even if they reassured her it wasn't a misuse of their supplies, she'd prefer to save what they could—medication even more so since they had no replacement for that.

While she was thankful that her body finally decided to give her a break from the contractions, another predicament began to arise. It just had to be one thing after the other during her cycle, she couldn't catch a break.

The three of them were in the lab, with her sitting idly on a stool nearby. Simon was tending to some of his plants that he took out of the greenhouse, while Grace had busied himself with a Taumoeba sample under the microscope to further experiment with. Seeing as there was little else to do on the Hail Mary, it was something to keep them occupied at least.

Astra had been using Grace's laptop to research random facts about the ocean again—keyword, had. Ten minutes passed with the device laying untouched in her lap, aside from her hands loosely hanging onto the sides to prevent it from falling. Other than that, the laptop's existence was completely ignored.

No, her eyes were focused on something much more important. Those mismatched irises scanned over the two men in front of her, roving over their forms as if something had suddenly possessed her.

Were they always this hot? Or was it just the hormones getting to her? Definitely both, but the latter was the cause of said realization.

She watched as the blonde fiddled with the knobs of the device, his hands covered by blue latex gloves while a pair of goggles hung from his neck. For once his glasses were on properly, a detail she'd never taken the time to appreciate with how attractive it was.

Then her gaze flickered to the opposite end where the dark-haired man was quietly pruning a plant. His wavy hair was fully tied up in a bun, only a few stray locks framing his face and allowing her to see his defined jawline, the rows of canine teeth lining his left cheek, and the fin spines along his ear.

The shudder that traveled down her spine was anything but normal.

She was able to see both of their side profiles, along with the muscles that Grace's graphic t-shirts did little to hide—especially on Simon, the fabric sticking to him like a second skin due to his broader frame. Again, not something she ever paid much mind to, except now all her eyes could focus on was biceps and pectorals.

By then she could feel the heat rushing to her face, along with a subtle pool of warmth building in her lower abdomen. Her grip on the computer tightened, letting herself get lost in her own thoughts the longer she looked on.

What would their muscles feel like squeezed beneath her fingers? Or between her small fangs, better yet. She could see her teeth sinking into their collarbone, while her sharp claws dragged along their chests, leaving bright, red scratch marks in its wake as she trailed down lower to their—

"You're staring."

That deep voice startled her out of whatever daydream she was having, wide, panicked eyes snapping over to the source. Simon stared back at her, the corner of his lip curled upwards while amusement danced across his dark-brown and crimson eyes. His arm was behind him on the table and his hips rested on the edge of the surface, his body now fully pivoted in her direction—an indication he had been watching long enough to change his position.

Shit.

How long had he been watching her for then? And how hadn't she noticed until now?

Astra knew her face was burning up, even more so when Grace's gaze also shifted to her, his curiosity piqued after hearing Simon utter those two words. Suddenly she was the center of both their attention, and she wished the ground would swallow her whole in that moment.

"No, I'm not." She sputtered out on instinct, the denial quick on her tongue in order to save herself from further embarrassment. "I was just... looking to see how things were coming along." That excuse was a weak one, to where even she couldn't fight off the wince she gave from it.

Simon rose an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side as his gaze narrowed on her. "Really? Didn't know staring at my chest would help so much with that observation."

The auburn-haired woman nearly choked on her own saliva, her face turning beet red as she could hear Grace try to muffle an abrupt laugh from behind his wrist. "I was not!"

He didn't appear at all convinced, the smirk on his face growing wider as he spared a glance at the blonde. "No? You weren't staring at Grace's biceps and hands, either?"

Okay, so he'd been observing her for far longer than she initially thought. God damnit, she should've been more subtle.

The amusement on Grace's face fell for a spilt second, releasing a startled puff of air as a red flush painted itself across his pale complexion. Clearly he wasn't expecting to be dragged into the conversation, especially in that sort of context. Somehow his face looked a darker shade than hers in a shorter amount of time.

Astra huffed, darting her eyes back down to the laptop screen in a desperate attempt to shield herself away from them. "Sh–shut up. Go back to trimming your stupid plant."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Simon push himself off the table. "What if I don't want to?" His voice was challenging, each footstep stalking closer until she could see his boots right beside the stool she sat on. "You seem a lot more interested in me doing something else."

Before she could form some kind of remark to deflect, his hand lifted and slid along the left side of her face, cupping her jaw and cheek within his palm. The short claws at the ends of his fingers scraped below her ear, anchoring there in order to tilt her head up in his direction.

She had no time to react before he leaned down, pressing his lips against the corner of her mouth in a kiss. Her right eye squeezed shut, face ablaze as she felt the scratch of his stubble and the graze of his canine teeth dragging across her soft skin.

Her grip around the laptop was so tight her knuckles turned white, paralyzed to the spot and unsure of what to do as her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. It didn't help that admist her daze, she saw Grace follow in their direction, before her only lifeline was suddenly plucked from her fingertips and set aside.

Not a second later she felt Simon's hand slip away, only for another pair of lips to replace it on the other corner of her mouth, more stubble scratching at her skin and a pair of glasses lightly bumping into her face. Both of her eyes were twisted shut as she was smothered between the two. A noise must've escaped her throat, because she could feel the rumble of laughter against her skin—from one of them or both of them, she couldn't tell in her flustered state.

She must've turned her head at some point, cause she found Simon's mouth pressed entirely against her own. A warm, wet sensation glided across her bottom lip, while she felt Grace travel down her jaw and neck, leaving burning kisses along the skin there. Hands grabbed at her waist from each side, one daring to snake under the hem of her shirt and drag upwards—Grace, due to the texture of the gloves.

A gasp escaped her as pointed teeth bit at her lip, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue in the minute her mouth fell open. The rows of teeth at his cheek seemed to part alongside his mouth, ever so slightly biting into her skin. Between that and the tongue sliding across her own, her brain was completely useless in trying to keep up.

Where her shirt was lifted she felt something warm press against her abdomen, causing her to jolt in surprise. Another kiss met that area, lower and open-mouthed as hot, panted breaths dusted across her freckled skin. She'd been too consumed in the kiss to even notice the blonde now knelt between her legs.

His nose bumped against her stomach along with the edge of his glasses. "Y'know, there is another way to help you feel better." His voice came out raspier than usual, a low, strained mumble laced with a desperation that was somehow worse than her own.

The man above her backed off for a second, allowing her to catch her breath while his lips hovered mere centimeters from her own. Finally her eyes fluttered open, the glossed over, mismatched irises connecting with a pair of dark, lidded eyes that looked ready to devour her—she swore the crimson of his left eye seemed to glow.

Simon licked his lips, his gaze flickering back and forth between each of her eyes, searching for permission. "You okay with that?"

From below she could feel Grace halt what he was doing, instead resting his chin against her abdomen to peer up at her. One glance down, and any sliver of doubt had been destroyed by the mere sight of him—squeezed between her thighs, gazing up at her with hooded eyes and dilated pupils, his glasses askew and dirty blonde locks disheveled while his fingers twitched against her hips.

Having Simon towering over her wasn't helping either, along with the claws of his hand that latched at her upper torso, dangerously close to her chest. With the heat of both their stares burning into her, practically begging for her answer, she wasn't able to resist.

Anything to make her feel better, right?

And they're like, whoop there it is