Again huge thanks for the support and Ideas people are giving me!! I’m glad glad glad people enjoy this series!! Also I’m so sorry for the lack of interaction on my part I’m kinda new to tumblr!!
More period issues on the ship with Grace and Rocky because I’m on my period and I’ll be damned if everything isn’t about me. Btw half of this is a anatomy/biology lesson
“Grace, y/n, question” Rocky rolls into the room where you’re both working.
“What’s up bud?”
You stay silent because Ryland is usually better at explaining things to Rocky than you are.
“Earlier, y/n say y/n has period, Rocky no understand”
Grace looks at you, because who the hell else would he look at, this is not his area of expertise.
“Gosh okay-“ you start. “You know about male and female right?”
“Yes stupid stupid human biology structure”
“Yeah well human females have uteruses which is an organ, and this organ goes through a cycle, one of the steps is building up an inner lining for a baby, and then when or if there is no sperm to fertilize the egg, the lining serves no purpose so it- well it destroys itself I guess”
Rocky paused to take it in, you glanced at Ryland to see him still working but you could see he was actively listening.
“And while it’s destroying itself it hurts pretty bad and sort of makes the human leak the lining”
“Rocky is.. need word”
“What word? Describe it” you said softly.
“Is angry. Is confused and upset for humans, so stupid, so unfortunate!”
“Okay.. so like frustrated?” You typed in frustrated with the sound Rocky made.
“Yeah human biology is kinda stupid. Grace any comments? Questions?”
“For your information I taught sex ed at Grover Cleaveland middle for a whole year so I have no questions.” He said a little defensively, making you laugh.
“Rocky want to help”
“Help what?”
“Y/n feel pain, feel cramp? Rocky want to fix”
“Oh you’re so sweet rock, I’m not sure there is much you can do”
“Well we have the heating pad charging and some Tylenol-“ Grace started, and then was rudely cut off (typical Rocky behavior)
“Rocky is heat! Rocky give human heat!” Rocky rolled over to where you were sitting on the floor, repeatedly bumping into you “Rocky help!”
“No rock it’s- it’s okay” you giggled. “Cmere remember hugs? How about a hug, a hug would help rock”
With your legs on either side of his ball you hugged him, and suprisingly the heat radiating through the xenonite was really nice.
“Wait this actually does feel nice”
“Human so stupid. Rocky always right” you heard Ryland tsk at that and laughed softly.
losing my mind over the ideia of the eridians gifting grace and simon a service dog
i mean, maybe ilyukhina had a little locket containing a beloved dog’s fur and teeth. maybe grace had mentioned it to rocky when talking about the concept of pets, and how important they are to their humans. maybe they covered the whole thing about service dogs, or maybe rocky just found out about them by accident. maybe someday he just took a long look at his traumatised humans and remembered that therapy dogs are a thing on earth
cut to: rocky and some eridian scientists just straight up jurassic-parking their way into creating a whole ass dog. using ilyukhina’s locket. and then, one day, rocky randomly surprises grace with the cutest, most pathetic-looking german shepherd puppy the universe has ever seen. and she immediately becomes grace’s shepherd and simon’s best friend
(important notes: rocky had the biogineers triple her average lifespan. she eats mekibble, and chases grace around with water pouches and neatly wrapped mesandwiches. she’s obsessed with the sea, which means simon slowly but surely becomes a true menace of a swimmer)
Edit: Chapters 1-3 are up on ao3!! You can find them here, I hope you decide to check it out and enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing the idea out!!
For context, Eden is 21 and Grace is 32, so a bit of an age gap but still acceptable for her to be his controversial younger girlfriend mwahaha. Eden was going to get her PhD in History, but after an extra credit assignment leads her to a school she realizes she wants to teach. She originally is put with Mrs. Carmen, a lovely history teacher at Grover Cleaveland Middle, but after an unexpected event is reassigned to Mr. Grace. After spending most of the school year together, Eden would consider herself and Grace friends instead of coworkers… Until Eva Stratt comes along and offers Grace a chance to prove himself, and extends the offer to Eden as a “real time historian” (aka a bookkeeper lol)
If you enjoy this and would like to see it fully thought out, PLEASE tell me! I'm so on the fence about this idea and thought testing the waters of interest would help me decide haha!
Also, the name was 100% inspired by a BTS Wattpad fanfiction I read in 6th grade and wrote a book report on 😃 LMAO
Word Count: ~780
Tags: Strangers to friends, friends to lovers, lovers to strangers, lovers again, memory loss, age gap relationship, teacher/student but not in a creepy way, rocky ily, mentions of depression, mentions of anxiety, Slight Religious Trauma, eventual smut, a wee bit of angst, Loss of friends, lots of fluff, Touch Starved!Grace, Wingman Rocky, controversial younger girlfriend
The fluorescent lights of the prep clinic buzzed, a sharp, sterile hum that vibrated right through the soles of my shoes. I stood over the gurney, staring down at Ryland. He looked so small beneath the crisp white sheet, his chest rising and falling in a slow, medically induced rhythm.
"Get away from him, Eden."
Stratt’s voice cut through the quiet, cold and entirely devoid of apology. She stood in the doorway, two security guards flanking her like gargoyles. I spun around, my hands trembling, knuckles white as I gripped the metal railing of Ryland’s bed. "What did you do to him? Stratt, what did you do?"
"What was necessary," she said, stepping into the room. She didn’t even look at Ryland. Her eyes were fixed entirely on me like she was assessing a glitch in her machine. "Dr. Lokken and Dr. Lamonov are dead. Dr. Grace is the only remaining primary specialist on the Astrophage. The mission requires a biologist."
"He said no!" My voice cracked, a raw, ugly sound echoing off the tile walls. "He told you no! You can't just drug a man and ship him into deep space to die!"
"I can, and I have to," Stratt replied. "The survival of our species outweighs Ryland Grace’s cowardice. And it certainly outweighs your sentimentality. Move away from the gurney. We need to finalize his transport to the shuttle."
"No." I stepped in front of the bed, shielding him. "No, I won't let you do this. I have the logs, Stratt. I’ve written down everything. Every illegal seizure of property, every human rights violation, every single underhanded, totalitarian thing you’ve done for the last eight months. I will walk out those doors right now, I will find the media, I will find the international courts-"
"You won't make it past the courtyard," Stratt interrupted, her tone cold and strict. "Do you honestly think I care about the law, Eden? There won't be a legal system left to try me in fifty years if this ship doesn't launch."
"They'll stop the launch!" I screamed, the tears finally spilling over, hot and furious. "If the public knows you’re kidnapping your crew, they will tear this facility apart! I will burn this entire project to the ground, Stratt, I swear to God I will, unless you wake him up right now!"
Stratt stared at me for three agonizing seconds. The silence in the room was suffocating. Then, she let out a short, heavy breath and looked at the guards.
"She's a security leak," Stratt said, her voice dropping into that terrifyingly pragmatic register. "And a logistical liability. We don't have the time or the facility to detain her here without risking a breach."
My heart plummeted into my stomach. "Stratt... what?"
"You've spent months complaining that the Hail Mary needs an archivist to document the journey for whoever comes after us," Stratt said, taking a step toward me. "And you're right. It’s a shame the fourth coma berth was meant to be a spare. Prepare her."
"Are you insane?!" I lunged forward, but the guards were already moving.
A heavy hand clamped down on my shoulder, dragging me backward. I fought, kicking wildly, my sneakers scuffing violently against the floor as they shoved me into a heavy prep chair.
"Get off me! Let me go!" I shrieked, thrashing against the thick leather straps they snapped across my chest and arms. "Stratt, you can't do this! You can't!"
"I am saving humanity, Eden," Stratt said, looking down at me as a lab tech stepped forward, a syringe gleaming under the harsh lights. "If you're so desperate to protect this crew, you can go with them."
"No! No! Please!"
The tech grabbed my arm. I twisted my head, screaming at the top of my lungs, the sound tearing at my throat. "Yao! Ilyukhina! Yao!" Then, the double doors at the end of the hall burst open with a deafening crash.
"What the hell is going on in here?!" Commander Yao’s voice boomed, frantic and breathless as he charged into the room, his eyes widening in absolute horror as he saw me pinned to the chair. "Eden?! Eva what are you doing?"
"Yao, help me! She's sending-"
The cold, sharp bite of the needle pierced my neck. The world instantly tilted. The ceiling fan spun into a blur of grey and white. Yao’s face rushed toward me, his hands reaching out, his voice shouting something indistinguishable over the roaring in my ears.
I'm sorry, I tried to say, but my tongue felt like lead. I'm sorry, I couldn't save him.
The darkness slammed down like an iron curtain, swallowing Yao, Stratt, and my last remnants of Earth whole.
