Chapter Text
“PYLADES: I'll take care of you.
ORESTES: It’s rotten work.
PYLADES: Not to me. Not if it’s you.”
-- Orestes, Euripides
To say that Ryland Grace and Simon of Eden get off on the wrong foot would be the understatement of the century.
Being rescued from the blood ocean didn’t miraculously solve all of Simon’s problems. Far from it; the ex-convict has a lot to adjust to. Being a fresh amputee, the stars not being dead, aliens being real, living in a bubble on an alien planet where the natural atmosphere would kill him in seconds, having a human neighbor who isn’t constantly competing with him for resources to survive, trusting in this so-called “reality” that’s far too good to be true… yeah, no, making friends isn’t exactly a priority for him. Exiting survival mode after a lifetime of constant struggle is easier said than done. He barely even knows who he is when he’s not fighting tooth and nail.
Meanwhile, Ryland Grace is doing his best not to get attached to the handsome stranger he and his Eridian friends went to so much trouble to save. Simon may very well choose to leave Erid once he’s healed. Besides, Grace isn’t so desperate for human company that he’d latch onto someone who attacked him in their first-ever interaction. He has a good, happy, comfortable life here on Erid; he can’t ask for better. And he totally doesn’t dream of holding another human being’s hand, or being looked at fondly by someone with actual eyes, or seeing another person’s smile. Nope, no sir, there is no yearning happening here. He has Rocky and Adrian, who are more than enough family for him.
But who does Simon have, if not Grace?
(As for Rocky... Rocky hate Simon. Simon mean to Grace. Rocky put Simon back where he came from if no behave himself >:/ )