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There was a blindfold over Rocky’s eyes.
Incidentally, Rocky had eyes now, and a human body to match.
Grace said that it happened because Rocky wished to be a ‘real boy,’ but the truth of what happened was much less fantastical. Using Grace’s cells as a base, Eridian scientists grew a remotely pilotable human body. The body was different from Grace, in the sense that it was shorter and per Grace’s description the hair was fluffier, but also because there was an antenna sticking out of the head.
There was a little bulb on top of the antenna that Grace said was blinking green, or a medium-rough color. Not that Rocky could see that part, considering the blindfold. Regardless, the blinking light signified that Rocky’s consciousness was in the human body, and that everything was working as it should. Rocky’s actual body was being watched by Eridian scientists, but it meant that human Rocky was free to be alone with Grace.
“How do you feel so far, Rocky?” Grace asked.
“Ah,” went Rocky, voice raw and difficult to use. More clumsy groans fell out of their lips, but Rocky just couldn’t form the words.
It felt impossibly strange to Rocky. Grace’s voice was in front of them, but for the very first time, Rocky could not see Grace. More importantly, Rocky was sitting in Grace’s home without needing a suit. Rocky was amazed! They expected to be cold, but their human senses told them that it was nice. In fact, even though Rocky’s human senses were practically muted, there was something pleasant about experiencing the world the same way Grace did. It wasn’t overwhelmingly burning, the world Grace existed in was nice.
“Oh, you aren’t in any pain, are you?”
“Eogh,” went Rocky, which would’ve been ‘no,’ if only they could figure out how to speak.
“Um. Does that—?”
“Hn,” Rocky hummed, cutting off Grace. They were fine! Albeit, Rocky was getting annoyed, and was even stomping their foot, but they were fine!
“Cool, cool, I get it,” said Grace. “If you’re fine, or uh, since you’re fine, I’ll take off the blindfold now.”
“Mm,” Rocky hummed again, excited.
The blindfold was on for safety purposes, because otherwise it may have been too overstimulating. But Rocky had been able to get used to other bodily functions, such as breathing or sitting in a chair, so they felt confident they could handle vision.
“It’s probably going to feel like walking out of a dark room,” Grace stated, and though Rocky had no frame of reference as to what that was, they were inclined to agree.
Rocky felt Grace’s fingers slide around their head and unfasten the blindfold. Grace’s touch was gentle, and as their skin brushed against each other it made Rocky shiver. It felt nice, and Rocky was elated that it didn’t burn!
A happy noise escaped from Rocky, and that time Grace understood what it meant. “I’m excited too, Rock.”
As the blindfold was pulled away, Grace moved back to give Rocky space, and the world shifted. The ticklish pressure that rubbed against their nose and eyes went away, only to be replaced by the need to squint at the light invading their vision. The light was harsh and oppressive and made Rocky want to close their eyes. How contradictory!
“It’ll get better soon,” Grace reassured.
“Geh,” went Rocky, followed by “Gur.”
“I’m right in front of you, buddy.”
Rocky could almost see that. A lumpy shape moved around in front of the, though its form bled into the rest of the light. Rocky knew there was depth to the world, but everything felt flat as the light alone offered no distinction between shapes and distance. No different than a screen.
“Gurse,” Rocky hissed, the syllables coming out much more harsh than intended.
Why was human language so difficult? Rocky could understand the words just fine, but their mouth was uncooperative! Figuring out how to use the tongue was a skill on its own, but Rocky was slowly adapting to it.
Grace started to laugh at all of Rocky’s failed attempts to say their name, though did so quietly. That was another thing that Rocky had to adapt to: sound. In Rocky’s own body, they would be able to hear Grace giggling just fine. But as a human, they had to lean in to hear it better.
The human body was seriously inefficient, Rocky concluded. It was prone to leaking, had a faulty memory, and altogether lacked many things an Eridian could do. A human body was like living in moderation. Vision, however, was something Rocky could not bring themself to completely dismiss.
Slowly, more colors danced into view. The sight was truly something indescribable, and not just because Rocky lacked the ability to place names onto colors, which forced them to guess what red, blue, yellow, and so on was. Where to even begin? Color flooded their vision, and depth was slowly restored to them, even if everything looked warped and confusing.
And there was Grace! Amazing!
Grace was in front of Rocky, just as promised. Rocky really liked staring at Grace, since human vision made the room smaller and thus all the more easy to focus on a single thing. Seeing Grace was like— and to use a human expression, like laying eyes on Adrian for the first time. Special, like gaining a carving, but somewhere deeper than surface level.
But it was also different from a first meeting. Rather than gaining a sense of wholeness simply by being around them, it was like gaining another part of themself. Rocky felt closer to Grace, though their physical distance had hardly changed at all. The closeness came from being able to see the world as they did.
It made Rocky understand why Grace enjoyed looking at stars and planets. Grace was like a star to Rocky, simply amazing to look at. Rocky liked all the colors that adorned Grace, but especially the color of their hair. Grace had told Rocky what that color was: blond. A dirty blond, specifically, though Grace had to assure Rocky that their hair was clean.
Since Grace was there, it meant that Rocky could touch them, too, no longer separated by a wall. Rocky lurched forward, admittedly still shaky when it came to walking, and reached out towards Grace.
“Whoa!” Grace exclaimed, Just as Rocky fell into their arms.
It knocked them both onto the floor, but Grace was able to sit up quick, holding Rocky up too. Rocky looked up at Grace, and their expression looked so caring. They even seemed unfazed that their glasses fell off the bridge of their nose.
The feeling of being in Grace’s arms was incredible. They were soft and warm, and Rocky nearly sank into their embrace. To be close enough to feel the plushness of their skin and the prickliness of short hairs on their chin— that was a real, human hug! Now Rocky was close enough to even smell them. That said, Grace only smelled like Grace. A pleasant, human aroma, though once again lacking reference for further description. Maybe it was what sweetness was like.
Since Rocky was using all of their senses, the thought of taste came to mind. There was a lot of Grace to taste, so without putting in much thought, Rocky leaned in close and licked a stripe on Grace’s ear.
“What are you doing?” squeaked Grace.
Rocky pulled away, dejected. They didn’t mean to have bothered Grace, but the discomfort in their tone made it obvious that Rocky had done exactly that. Also, Rocky disliked how Grace’s ear tasted, so there wasn’t any way to even justify it. Rocky’s heart twinged, and they made a note to themself to apologize properly once they could speak, even if it meant doing it once they switched back to their actual body.
Grace leaned back, noticed the glasses were on the ground, and picked them back up. Once it had been returned to its rightful place, Grace used their free hand to cover their ear and bared their teeth. Oh, that must’ve been a smile! Rocky copied the motion, but that only caused Grace to laugh again.
“We must look so ridiculous,” said Grace.
“Grace!” said Rocky, glad to have finally figured out how to say their name. It came out clear, which made Rocky feel all airy inside. Rocky was starting to like their voice; or if nothing else, they liked the way Grace’s name sounded on their lips. It was beautiful.
“Yes, Rocky?”
Admittedly, proud though they were, Rocky didn’t feel confident saying a full sentence just yet. Speaking concisely was a priority.
Of course, it wasn’t as if communicating required a voice at all. There was only one thing Rocky truly wanted to convey, and they didn’t need a voice to do it, either. After all, they’d already spent years together, and some things were so implicit between them that it could be left unspoken.
Rocky leaned in once more into Grace. Their head nuzzled its way into the crook of Grace’s neck and stayed there. In response, Grace wrapped their arms around Rocky, and they could feel Grace rubbing their back. It made Rocky feel buzzy in Grace’s arms, both excited yet relaxed. In a word, Rocky was happy. Very happy.
They would know when the hug would end, but Rocky felt content knowing it wouldn’t be right away. In that moment, their hearts were aligned, which meant that their hug would be undisturbed in that pleasant moment of time, at least for a little while.