"Grace have mate, question?"
It was a simple enough ask. But one that made Ryland pause and sigh.
"Yeah-" He said solemnly. "I have a mate but we don't- we don't say mate."
"What Grace say, question?" Rocky asked in return.
"Different things for different stages. Girlfriend, fiancé- wife." Ryland looked down, memories flooding his mind.
"Wife is mate, question?" Rocky persisted. Ryland simply nodded a soft mhmm. "Why not say mate, question?"
"Because-" Ryland sighed and leaned back, staring at the hull of the ship, his eyes drifting to blurriness. "Humans don't work like that." He said softly. "Mate would mean something- uh- predestined. Humans like to choose."
"Grace choose?" Rocky asked, leaning towards the glass wall.
"Yeah. Yes. I chose." He smiled a little, thinking back on you.
Your smile, your laugh, the way your face softened when you slept, the way your brows would crease when you concentrated, the way you'd roll your eyes at his dumb jokes. All of it.
But then his ugly mind twisted the happy into the horrid. The sickness, the hospital stays, the funeral and most of all- The empty house.
"Where Grace mate?" Rocky's voice softened.
"She- Uh-" Ryland cleared his throat. "She's back on Earth." He decided to say instead of explaining too much.
"Grace mate stopped choosing?" Rocky asked carefully.
Ryland laughed a little. The absurdity of it all. He shook his head. "No- No she didn't stop choosing. She - Uh- She didn't have a choice."
"No understand." Rocky huffed a little.
"She got sick. She died." He said it quickly. Not wanting to linger on the thought of it all again. "She didn't choose to leave. She didn't have a choice."
Silence wrapped around them both as Rocky clicked his tips, trying to figure out what to say next.
"Mate bone broken by not choice?" Rocky asked with slight confusion.
"Yeah- Yeah, pal. Something like that." Ryland closed his eyes, trying to compose himself.
"Grace still choose, question?" Rocky's voice gentled.
"Yeah." Ryland smiled a little, "Always. I'd always choose her."
"Then bond not broken." Rocky said firmly, making Ryland roll his eyes and smile.
"That's not how it works, buddy." He said softly. "When people die- You're supposed to move on."
"Replace mate, question?" Rocky sounded almost appalled by the notion.
Ryland chuckled and shook his head. He took a deep breath. "Not replace. Find ... new. Try to keep living."
"No understand." Rocky's voice dimmed a little.
"She would've liked you." Ryland said with a smile, instead of explaining or even trying to explain.
"Grace mate like Rocky?" The voice was almost chipper. Excited at the thought.
"Yeah buddy." Ryland hummed. "Grace mate like Rocky."
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i don't even know man- i haven't seen the movie yet but i keep seeing clips and reels and i couldn't help but write this. enjoyyyy <333
