@unfxrgettable // continued.
𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 … soft notes, half for himself and half in quiet response to grace. the engineer was perched on the floor in front of his friend, one knee bent, the other braced so he could lean in close, items from the first aid kid scattered around. he'd torn the wrapper from the antiseptic wipes with his teeth and was applying it generously. his fingers were steady, almost absurdly steady for someone who had spent the last year or so running on caffeine, adrenaline, and sheer stubbornness … but that was engineer hands for you; careful && deliberate && precise. he only falters once. a tiny tremor, a brief hesitation, when grace hissed in pain. it didn't stop the work, it just slowed it, rocky's voice dropping to a gentle murmur as he glanced up, head tilting ever-so-slightly as he checked in. ❝ you okay? ❞
and then grace sneezed. and rocky blinked, startled for a moment, before a soft huff of laughter escaped through his nose, morphing into a quiet chuckle. ❝ …mmhm. yeah, I don't like it either. this shit smells like it could strip paint.❞
the engineer's mouth twitched into a half-smile before they bowed their head again, dark salt-and-pepper curls falling forward as they resumed inspecting the gash. his hands moved with that same practised precision — efficient, methodical, and yet gentle in a way that almost felt too intimate … rocky had spent months watching over grace in his coma, tending to him, trying ( with his limited medical knowledge ) to keep the other man alive, and that instinct, that duty of care, hadn't faded now that they were both awake. if anything, it had sharpened.
he pressed a dressing onto the gash with a firm, confident hand, before winding the bandage tight and neat.
❝ you're fragile—❞ rocky hums … a playful insult, mostly teasing. ❝—and clumsy. a terrible combination for someone hurtling through space in metal tube full of sensitive equipment.❞ the grin returns, lopsided, as he ties off the bandage. ❝ try not to kick anything else important.❞
there was an unmistakeable fondness in those warm brown eyes they flicker back up to meet grace's gaze. he taps the scientists knee to signal he was done … but the hand lingered there, for just a moment longer than it needed to.
