Chapter Text
Grace was sick.
It wasn’t a cute cough or puppy love… it was the flu or a cold. It had to be a flu or cough. Possibly bronchitis. It all happened due to Simon.
Simon had smiled at him. Mind you not a normal smile. No Grace had practically put to memory every single one of Simon’s normal smiles.
This was-
God Simon smiled so brightly it could have outshone the sun. The man had been mid laugh, cards on the table as his looked genuinely at ease.
The next thing Grace knew he was coughing up petals. Sunflower petals to be exact.
How they had gotten into his lungs in the first place was beyond him. He had panicked and tried to have Armando scan his lungs a few times. As right there in the scan… was flowers beginning to grow.
“That’s not possible…” he mumbled as he kept looking at the scans. His teacher brain running a million miles a minute. He kept the discovery to himself for the time being, hoping that it was a weird side effect of being in a coma for 11 years.
Grace had no clue what this was about. He had never even heard anything like this from earth! Flowers growing in lungs? How would they grow!? There was no soil, lungs were damp, but didn’t have the proper amount of sunlight. He must be drunk or high or maybe took some of his dead companions drugs on accident.
He wondered if he could radiate them. Maybe have Armando fill his lungs with something to get ride of the flowers? Would it require surgery?
Also- why sunflowers? They were a large plant that required the sun! This didn’t make any sense! He didn’t know much about sunflowers in the first place. The man grabbing a book on flower language as he flipped through it. His eyes finally catching what he wanted to see:
“In the language of flowers (floriography), sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and Longevity. Because they track the sun, they also represent unwavering faith, spiritual enlightenment, and positivity. Bright and cheerful, they are the perfect bloom to express pure joy and deep platonic affection.” He softly read to himself as he tried to find out more about cultivating sunflowers.
Grace sighed and looked at the mug that had now become Simon’s cup. The scientist scratching his head as he thought about the other human on the ship. “Foxy grandpa” was on the mug as Grace just smiled and let out another round of hacking.
Petals and seeds coming out of his mouth this time… the coughing feeling acutely uncomfortable as saliva coated the items now in his hands…
So, he did the logical and probably disturbing thing of planting the sunflower seeds and seeing if they would grow. The man figuring why not?
He wrote down his symptoms and would monitor them as they kept growing. He prayed they wouldn’t keep growing. Grace had to figure out how to get everything under control.
Simon hadn’t seemed to notice the difference yet. Thank goodness.
Ryland looked down at Rocky though. They were set to be stuck on the ship to a couple of years still until they hit Erid. Nothing too terribly exciting except for the fact that the three of them had to not kill each other or go insane.
Grace nervously adjusted his glasses as he whispered. “Hey Rock, can we talk for a second?” The man awkwardly leaning down and trying to seem slick about it.
The Eridian loudly exclaimed “Why Grace whisper! What Grace want to talk about?” As Grace frantically placed his hands on Rocky’s face plate ball thing.
“Rocky! Not too loud-“ he shushed as he rushed the two of them out of the part of the ship.
Simon looked at the two in confusion before he shrugged and got back to working on his project. His hand working expertly and quickly.
Grace pulled Rocky into the Med bay. The scientist anxiously looking at his Companion as he asked. “Hey rock, have you heard of any alien diseases that cause plants to grow in lungs?” He asked curiously. His expression a bit worried as Rocky tilted his head.
“That sounds disgust! No, no, no. Not any disease Rocky familiar with, Convict mention it once though. Ask convict that causes Grace heart to beat fast-“
“Okay, okay- thank you rock.” The man trying to hide the blush he had on his face as he went and approached Simon.
Simon was wearing Grace’s “I had potential” shirt along with his hair being up for the time being. The man had really filled out since joining the Hail Mary as it’s unofficial plant enthusiast and pilot. He wasn’t nearly as rail thin and weak as he had been when Grace pulled him out of the bloody disaster.
Simon still had a slew of mutations that they had to monitor but for the most part he was doing well on the ship and seemed to be settling in fine.
“Hey, Simon. I have a quick question, Rocky said that you might know about a disease that causes people to cough Petals?” He tried to be as nonchalant with it as possible. Not give anything else away. Simon had been sitting at his “work” station. Plants and mechanical parts liter inc the entire workspace.
Grace had tried to be cool and leaned on it once, causing everything to fly into the air and him to fall so he had opted for just approaching him.
Simon froze. His hands covered in oil and lubricant as he paused on his engineering project. He looked incredibly serious as he looked up at Grace and asked. “Are you coughing up petals?” His voice had a scared edge to it. He took off his gloves and goggles quickly as he stood up. His eyes focusing in as he genuinely seemed terrified.
Grace was taken aback as the intensity Simon had to him as he franticallylied “Me!? No- no. I was just curious about it Rocky mentioned it and I mean- it’s not normal!”
Simon relaxed as he took a breath and nodded. The usually stoic and quiet man glancing at Grace nervously before he explained. “In Eden, people who harbored feelings for another would usually confess their attraction right away. Otherwise, flowers would begin to grow in their lungs. Until you confessed your feelings they would slowly keep growing. Many would cough up blood, some would be too late, others had surgery to get rid of them. Why do you want to know about Hanahaki disease?” He asked curiously.
Grace’s heart stopped beating… his lungs aching as he realized, if what Simon said was true. Grace had feelings for Simon.
Grace was also infected with a disease from Simon’s world but that paled in comparison to the fact that, Grace had feelings for Simon…