Grace was fairly certain he had never had a friendship quite like his with Rocky. Well, for starters, they were completely different species from completely different worlds—of course their friendship would be unique! However, that wasn’t the peculiar thing about their friendship. No.
What was peculiar was that despite this difference in worlds, in existences, their bond was the strongest one Grace had ever had in recent years. Heck, maybe even in his whole life. And wasn’t that just something? He couldn’t connect with his own species on the same level he could Rocky. And Rocky and him didn’t even communicate in the same language! They’d had to figure out how to do so.
Some people might explain it as shared trauma making their bond strong, but Grace didn’t think that was entirely it. He often thought back to an intense moment on their route to Rocky’s home, where Rocky had saved Grace. It had been an admittedly stupid lapse of judgment on Grace’s part—he could only blame exhaustion—but he had been about to touch something that was so hot it would’ve incinerated his hand. Rocky had stopped him though.
In a moment of physical fatigue combined with deep relief for Rocky’s presence, Grace said, “I would die for you.”
“Rocky not understand,” Rocky said. “Why Grace want to die for Rocky?”
And Grace had blanked. How did one respond to that? He took a few moments to process his thoughts. “It’s a sentiment expressed on Earth when someone has strong feelings for someone else. Feelings so strong that they would sacrifice themselves for that person,” Grace settled on.
“Rocky not need Grace to sacrifice self.”
“I know,” Grace said. “But I would if I had to.”
“Dislike. Rocky dislike.” But then Rocky spoke a minute later. “Hello Grace?”
Grace hummed. “Mm?”
“Live for Rocky instead, yes?”
Grace’s eyes widened and he let out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, sure will, buddy. I sure will.”
And that was it, wasn’t it? Their friendship went beyond something conventional. It transcended communication. It transcended worlds and species. It was pure and sincere. There was no bullshit.
Even if Grace never got back to Earth, he knew he would never regret his decisions. How could he when he’d found someone like Rocky? That alone was worth a thousand lifetimes.