I Will Always Love You @mouthfulloftoothpasterry - Tumblr Blog

Oh, oh, oh, oh! The guy that does the audiobook for PHM is also the guy who did We are Legion, We are Bob, and he’s so excellent at what he does!

Also I love the idea of Rocky asking about mates with [reader] there bc WOW, whew, excuse me how awkward Grace will immediately get

RAY PORTER, MY LOVE AND MENTION OF WE ARE LEGION? Let's be friends, Anon. I love those books sm. Also this idea plagues my ever being thank you for bringing it up. Pls like, reblog and comment! I was really excited to write this and may have gone overboard haha. Jazz hands. - Em.

Title: Birds, Bees & Beatles. Pairing: Dr. Ryland Grace x Fem!Reader. Summary: Ryland knew how to handle the topic with kids whose parents refused to give them 'the talk'. How do you handle the topic when the 'kid' was a Alien, older than the United States of America, from the planet Erid? Words: 8K. ( there are blisters on me fingers ) Rating: M. ( Human reproduction, heavy mentions of sex, Ryland is uh. Horny on main. But so is reader. ) READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. 18+. Ryland Grace Masterlist. Ryland Grace taglist: @strigiform-titan @whats-my-hyperfixation @negativefoursanity @blaze-the-world @box-of-sharpies @everythingismadeofchaos @gnomebutch @t0nystank @greenlalianime @my-cat-can-slay-dragons @gardenavenve

“How Human reproduce, question?” That hung in the air like a deadweight. Ryland shrugged his glasses off with an awkward chuckle, leaning over to look at the laptop to make sure that his ears heard the Eridian correctly. Yup, he nodded and bunched his mouth into a form fitting pout like he had eaten something sour. He heard that right.

He explained orbital mechanics to Rocky, he explained radiation and time dilation, going deep into his brain to bring up the correct physics and mathematics to do so and somehow tried his hand at saving the Earth and Erid with successful results thus far. And yet… Somehow and some way, with you standing right next to him, mouth flying open, Rocky decided to ask that particular question. Ryland had felt stress before, but nothing like this. Explaining human reproduction to Rocky. God, he was going to lose hair from the tension in the air.

“Okay,” Ryland said, clapping his hands together. He’d done this before! He’s taught sex-ed! He’ll just… Use that experience. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Tightly, his eyes closed as he rose to his feet, pacing and rubbing the stubble on his chin. Ryland couldn’t bear to be near you as he began simply, “Humans reproduce… sexually.”

Rocky’s voice chimed, curious and steady. “No understand word.”

Well, this was a disaster. Ryland wanted to bang his head against the metal wall of the Hail Mary. There were many things about this that were enjoyable, one of which being the absolute spiral Ryland was going through, evident in the way that he grasped his chin and let a hard sigh escape his parted lips. He needed help but didn't want to ask you--- “He means it takes two people.” You told Rocky, looking down at him in his xenonite container.

Ryland let a laugh out - sharp and precise before turning on his heel and pointing at you. “Yes!! That. Good.” Nodding with a thumbs up, he began shuffling towards the doorway that would get him the heck out of dodge. ”She’ll explain the rest, Rock. Any questions just,” Ryland pointed at you again, “Let her know.”

“Oh, so now it’s my responsibility?”

“Yes,” he said quickly, shuffling his feet. “Team effort, right?”

Rocky’s attention shifted between you both as he teetered from foot to foot to foot to foot to… foot. “Behavior unusual.” He pointed at Ryland with one of his many fingers who felt like he was being put into a police lineup at the motion,“Grace increase vocal pitch, avoid (Last Name), elevated heart rate. Grace in danger, question?”

You pushed yourself off the edge of the metallic desk you were happily leaning against, stepping closer to Ryland who wanted nothing more than to step back but there was nowhere to go at this point. You were close enough that your shoulder brushed his arm. He stiffened beside you for half a second before searching your face for some sort of explanation of why you were in his bubble.

“He’s not in danger,” you told Rocky gently. “Just… human reproduction is sort of… personal. We don’t talk about it very often. It’s kind of… Socially not accepted outside of certain situations.”

And unfortunately, this was indeed. … One of those certain situations.

Ryland cleared his throat and covered his mouth with a fisted hand, very aware of how near you were now. But it seemed you had a plan and he was more than willing to go along with it despite the heat that was rising in his chest. “Right. Personal. Totally normal to feel weird about explaining this in front of an alien with another person.” He half-whispered that last part. “You’re a Doctor. In Molecular biology. Isn’t it your job to… not make it weird?” You murmured under your breath. It was futile, you knew Rocky could hear no matter what range of vocal volume you used.

“I’m not making it weird,” He was on the verge of desperation. Given the chance, you were sure he’d bust out into tears but instead he whined, “It is weird.”

Rocky chimed. “Showtime, question? Increased distance between Grace and (Last Name). Is part of human reproduction, question?”

You snorted at that, almost losing what little semblance of control you had at that implication. Rocky didn't know any better, you knew that, but the thought of… Ryland and you caused discomfort to rise in the pit of your stomach, seeking refuge against the bottom of your ribcage as your cheeks turned a nice shade of red. The scientist next to you covered his face briefly, refusing to let you see what expression he was giving off, his pinkies tearing at his bottom lip as he groaned out and rubbed at his cheeks tediously. Yeah, this was going to be… harder than you both thought.

“No, bud.” It was obvious in the shaky tone of your voice that you were barely holding on, “Let’s start from the beginning okay? Basics.” “Basic.” Rocky mused. You nodded, happy he understood at least that. “Humans have two sexes. Male,” You pointed at the still flustered Ryland who was no longer holding his face but was beet red from the neck up, “and female.” Your hand traveled to your chest to point. Like your face was any less colored. “They each produce what's called gametes. Sperm from the male and egg from the female.”

He thrummed a few musical notes your way before the computer voice spilled out, “Understand.”

Ryland nodded along with your words, finally bringing himself to speak up now that there seemed to be a handle on the topic. “And they have to meet… you know for…” He coughed, hoping that his words didn't come out as awkward as they were sounding in his head, one hand rising to rub the back of his neck as he slurred a small, “for reproduction to happen. They meet, shake hands and create a zygote.” It was your turn to nod at Ryland in support. Rocky made talking to his pre-teen students about this seem like a cake walk. Hopefully, that will be all and he’d be satisfied with the lesson. The basics were explained, there wasn’t anything else!

Rocky tilted his carapace and played some of his fingers together. “How meet, question?”

Annnnnd, there it was. The question of the century, ladies and gentlemen! Ryland wheezed at that, bending down to hold on to his knees. “That’s a good question, Rocky. One I’m sure Dr. Grace has a good answer for.” You looked at him, waiting for something to come out of his mouth but there was nothing but a startled laugh of sorts, turning into a prolonged groan. He looked at you like Rocky had just asked him to perform a piano piece in front of a full auditorium. Naked.

“Oh no,” He muttered in your general direction, almost begging on his hands and knees as he scuttled even closer. “No, no, no. You’re better at explaining personal things. I can stick to science!”

“You’re literally a teacher.” Was your response, tucked away behind a smile that Ryland stared at for a moment too long as you grasped his shoulder. He leaned into it subconsciously seeking the comfort it gave him, “You can do this!”

“I teach kids about the power house of cells, not—this!” He gestured rather wildly towards Rocky. “Didn't you do sex-ed one year?” “Why do you think they never asked me to do it again!?”

Rocky tapped lightly on the floor with one of his claws. “Grace delay. Answer Rocky question. Important.”

“It’s not like we’re, y’know…” You made a circle movement with your wrist, trying to think about what you wanted to say to him. Instead, you opted to lean in a bit and whisper closer to his ear, seeking some sort of privacy. Ryland felt prickly at the proximity of your face and given the chosen topic of conversation, it was hard to… Not to think about that. “We can just… talk about it. It’s not like he’s judging. He knows nothing about the process. He just needs the science.”

Ryland tilted his head at you, and for a moment the panic faded into something quieter upon feeling your hot breath against the shell of his neck. Something warmer. Unfamiliar in his body, making his feet feel slightly numb and his chest like there was a heavy brick right on his sternum. Was he sweating? He flickered his hands into fists before relaxing them again. He felt like he was sweating---

“Easy for you to say,” His breath shattered into the air, moving some strands of your hair as you were that close to him. “You’re not the one trying not to think about—” He stopped himself abruptly. Woah, this was not the time and place, Ryland!

You leaned back to look at his face quizzically, noting the press of his eyebrows that caused a crease to form between them, the rapid nature of his breath, inhaling and exhaling from his mouth. If you didn't know better, you’d say that this was making him nervous. “Think about what?”

His ears went hot at that, turning a lovely shade that matched the seam of his Horse Shoe Bend t-shirt. “Nothing. Science. Just science, like you said.”

You smiled just a little and patted his shoulder supportively as he straightened his back to stand. “Right. Science.”

Rocky chimed again, showing clear signs of impatience. “Clarify. How meet, question?”

It was your turn to stand straight as Ryland trailed back towards Rocky, grabbing one of the lab chairs and scooting it under his butt. He sat slowly, bunching his knees up on the metallic ring around the bottom. “It happens internally,” He said with a bit more viable confidence. “The male delivers sperm into the female’s body so it can reach the egg.”

Rocky went still before clacking some fingers together. “Explain delivery mechanism.”

Grace made a strangled noise and threw himself rather dramatically onto the lab table. “I can’t do this.” He murmured, his breath causing condensation to rise on the surface.

You bit back a laugh, trailing behind and sitting in the lab stool next to Ryland. “Through physical… closeness.” That was a good word, one that didn't provoke and from the silence that the Erdian gave, maybe he was finally satisfied with the answers he had gotten and he was just taking a moment to remember it all.

“Define word.”

Ryland let out a slow breath and raised his hand to touch your shoulder. Not affectionately, but to give Rocky an example, you figured. “Extremely close. Physical touch. Extremely close physical touch.” He finally pieced together coherently. At least, as coherent as it was going to get as he dragged his hand down from your shoulder, over the smooth skin of your upper arm and down to your wrist where it lingered momentarily under the table. Your shoulder brushed his again as you shifted your weight at the tickling nature of the contact, and this time neither one of you thought of moving away.

Rocky considered the definition and made a conclusion based on what else he knew about Humans. “Trust required, question?”

You looked at Ryland, waiting for him to answer but it was obvious from the way he stared at you that it was not coming anytime soon. Instead, you let your touch flutter across his fingers under the table before you lifted them up. “I’d say so, yes.”

The blonde next to you nodded, jarred out of the moment from his rather reckless grazing against your skin. He couldn’t stop himself though - he tried and failed, like an absolute loser. He just hoped it didn't make you uncomfortable. But… From your reaction, Ryland felt almost confident enough to say that you… Enjoyed it as much as he did. That was new. Clearing his throat once more in a vain attempt to keep himself calm, his voice more grounded than before but still on the hushed side. “A lot of trust, actually.” He felt shameful to admit that it felt like Rocky wasn’t even there anymore and this was just a conversation waiting to happen between the two of you. For a moment, the awkwardness that had shuffled to the surface of tension faded into something else. Neither of you felt it needed to be said, something… Unspoken about what was happening, what had transpired and what could happen. And the incredible irony that explaining this topic to an alien hundreds of years old unlocked it was just the icing on what was sure to be a very delicious cake. One you wanted to gorge yourself on, and from how Ryland was staring at you, he must have had the same thought. Your gaze shifted, you were not just looking at him, but almost into him, that you wanted more than just his pointer and middle finger on your skin, touching in places that were off-limits even to think about. He swallowed - harder than he meant to as a smile hit your face, “A lot of human reproduction revolves around that. It’s sort of like… A bond. Once you’ve successfully reproduced, you’re tied to that person for the rest of your life.”

Rocky turned his carapace towards you. How did you know? You spent a long time with him and figured out what side of him was designated the face side. He seemed perplexed by that before deciding to speak on the suggestion of your words, “Bond needed for human reproduction, understand. Eridian have similar. Trust. Bond with mate. Security. We call♩♫♫♩♪♪.”

You glanced over at the laptop this time, making sure that your ears were correct. It was not very often anymore that words came up like this, at least from Rocky, that were not already in your database. “You feel it with your mate?” “Yes,” Rocky seemed annoyed with that question from you. “But is not enough. Rocky feel,” He paused, “need new word to describe. Not enough time with Rocky mate. Want more. Want, Want, Want.” That was a revelation from a creature who lived many, many human life-spans. But, you supposed the desperation for more would always be around so long as Rocky and his mate were together. That was often the same for Humans. For a second, your fingers hovered over the keyboard. What… What were you even supposed to type? You could almost feel Ryland looking over your shoulder at the screen, almost relishing in the way that you could feel his hot breath against the shell of your ear from his sudden proximity of curiosity, surely wondering the same thing as you hesitated. What would you call that? That very unique trust and bond with someone you were going to try reproducing with? You shut your eyes and cringed. Ugh, that sounded so… not romantic.

Love. You typed in carefully, almost seeking approval from Ryland who looked at the word, mouth propping open and nodded in agreement. You tilted your head, almost bumping noses with your scientist. Your… scientist? When did that get possessive? He didn't bother pulling away either, staring at mouth before trailing up to meet your eyes.

Rocky was oblivious to the moment, proudly speaking out, “Have seen similar behavior with Grace, (Last Name). Trait of bond. Trust---”

Ryland choked on air, finally pulling away from you and leaving only his scent nearby as he trailed towards the wall where Rocky was perched, having moved to be a bit more comfortable in his space. He got surprisingly defensive, giving you a mild whiplash of ‘will we, won’t we’. “Wh--- Where did you get that idea? We are not--” “Together.” You finished for Ryland, causing him to startle. When. When did you get behind him? He turned to look down at you as you came around his right side and it took all his willpower not to shove you against the wall that collapsed between Rocky’s atmosphere and the Hail Mary’s and kiss you, proving Rocky right. But, that would lead to a whole ‘nother conversation. What a kiss was. Gross human thing. Gross, gross, gross. He can almost hear Rocky’s electronic voice in his head--- You use to eat and do that? Human gross. As if he didn't defecate out of his--- “Have observed love between Grace, (Last Name) many time. Have many example. Would Grace like to hear-” “No thanks.” He murmured, feeling his shoulders tense as he placed a hand carefully on the xenonite wall. And here he was thinking that he had been playing it cool this entire time. Or at least, for the last month when these… Urges, these emotions began surfacing. Why would it be surprising that Rocky noticed? He noticed everything! Could hear, see… Ryland felt a wall of heat rush through his entire body as he looked back at you, suddenly now onslaught with awkward nervousness. All confidence, all swagger that had been around him before was now gone and he was replaced back with… His cowardice. “We’re not together like that Rocky,” Came your voice of surprising rationale. How were you keeping so calm? Ryland wondered but he could tell from the way that you were holding your body, tense and unsure, it was making you slightly uncomfortable to talk about. It was like you had the world’s worst therapist in the room who couldn’t read the social cues you were both giving off in heavy doses. “Dr. Grace just needs to relax.” You turned your head, giving him a knowing grin.

“Iamrelaxed.” He said immediately, far too fast to the point where his words were jammed together. “I am so relaxed, it’s not even funny.” He scoffed, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. It lingered there, grasping a handful of the thick blonde hair at the base and tugged out of discomfort. You watched him squirm in amusement, admiring how the almost fluorescent lights of the lab bounced off the muscles of his bicep with the motion, a peak of his underarm hair teasing your semi-dilated pupils before being pulled back to his sharp face. “You seem like you’re panicking.”

“I panic when I’m relaxed.” Ryland said, dropping his arm much to your disappointment.

Rocky chimed, “Grace statement inaccurate. Behavior exhibited indicative of---” “I’m totally fine!” His voice was a few octaves higher than usual, hands placing themselves on his hips as he looked down at Rocky, “You need to stop doing that, bud. I’m trying to be mysterious!”

You laughed at that. Ryland was… anything but mysterious. He wore his heart on his sleeve much of the time to the point where his eyes gave away even the slightest bit of emotion he was trying to keep tucked into the surface. It was… Something you really liked about him, in fact. You could always tell how he was feeling, eyes perked up at you when you entered the room, eyes half-lidded with sleep as he came into the lab with Rocky trailing closely behind, eyes shut with focus as he listened to you explain something important to him. His thick eyelashes would tickle along the very tops of his cheeks when he shut his eyelids, and there were a few times you were tempted to lightly trace where they kissed just to say you were allowed but… Always stopped yourself short. You hadn’t realized you were gawking at him until his blue irises met yours and there it was again. That something unspoken transferred between you and it made your diaphragm clench, proverbial butterflies in your stomach.

“Okay,” He admitted, submitting his whims to you almost like he was on his hands and knees in front of you. You’d been attracted to him, but something about this look he was giving you was beyond measure as he moved a bit closer to you, shoulder brushing yours as he pivoted himself to be in front of you. You were blocked in between the wall and Ryland. Not too bad of a spot to be in. “Maybe I’m a little… not relaxed.”

“Because of the topic?” Your breath hit the base of his neck as you craned your own to look up at him.

He hesitated. Classic Ryland… Always coming up short when his moment was waiting to be seized.

“…Not entirely.” He raised a hand and experimentally let it rest on your waist, right above where you had the mission hoodie tied around your hips. He used that as a bit of leverage, letting his fingers sink into the fabric and almost audibly moaning at the feeling of heat coming from your skin from below. Was he just… Lonely? Were you just lonely? This is why he argued with Stratt about there being females and males on the mission! One sex made it simpler, but he supposed that if they were going on the mission in the first place knowing they were going to die, they’d let that go and just enjoy it for what it was worth.

This… was… God… The look you were now giving him was through your eyelashes, your right hand raising and pressing against his chest, right in the center and you could almost feel the divot of his sternum beneath your touch that caused another shift. Your feet moved closer, Ryland aiding just a bit as he pulled on your waist telling you that it was more okay for you to come in. Come to me. He was saying, only slightly ashamed in his own lack of self control as his hips moved towards you first, finally having your body almost moulded completely against his own like the white sheath that hugged your taut form when you went to put on your EVA suit. Ryland had to admit to himself - he’d looked more than once when you were wearing just that. And he had a good feeling that it was a mutual choice based on how you conformed against his hard body, his free hand raising and tucking a piece of your stray hair behind your ear which earned him you tipping your head to the side and letting his slender and long fingers encase the side of your cheek. “What… were we talking about? I…” Ryland’s voice was a hush as his breath captivated your face. He was that close, his mouth was right there it just took one more… Good pull… “Is Human reproduction mate random, question?”

There was a quiet beat. Ah, right… That’s what you were talking about. And you were being watched. Very closely. Probably too closely. Rocky had moved to get a bit closer to the xenonite before deciding to use it with his ‘magical wand’ Ryland called it after mistaking it as a gun. It was pointed directly at Ryland and you despite having gotten strict directions… Not to do that. Invasion of privacy was a hard thing to explain to an alien who used echolocation and had the greatest hearing in probably the whole galaxy. Universe, even. You answered this one without looking away from Ryland who expressed a knowing grin that mirrored the one you gave him earlier. “No. It’s a choice.”

Grace nodded slowly, forcing himself to pull away from you so he could bend down to Rocky’s level, using the clear xenonite to keep himself steady on the balls of his feet. You were left reeling at the lack of contact but it was replaced with something more, something… You needed to hear from Ryland as he spoke to Rocky in a more hushed voice. “An important choice. Human reproduction is about more than just performing a task for the sake of evolution and survival even if our bodies do go through cycles that indicate we want to just reproduce.”

Rocky hummed. “Human reproduction complicated. Just lay egg like Eridian. Easy.”

Ryland huffed a small laugh and looked up at you longingly, so unaware of how he was making you feel as his eyes were lidded by his thick and dark eyelashes, peering at you from over the thin rims of his glasses. “Yeah, well there’s no fun in that.” “Human reproduction fun, question?”

“You get to take that question, Dr. Grace.” The tone of voice you used was a bit different, Ryland noticed and joked to himself that he felt a bit like Rocky. It was… deeper. Intentionally so as it was coupled with you pressing your hand to Ryland’s shoulder as a fever washed over him slowly, lingering in places he wished to ignore but it was getting harder and harder at the prospect of… Well, did he even need to say it? Yeah, he did. His shoulders slopped forward as you trailed your fingers across his width, almost like you were gauging how large he truly was. Fine by him. Measure me any way you want, you’ll find I’m more than adequate as a mate. That didn't feel like him… He wasn’t one to tout about that. But, you were making him feel like that! Making him feel like he needed to prove some worth… That he’d be a great partner to reproduce with! He was loyal, he was funny… Smart… not to mention he wasn’t hard on the eyes.

Did you notice those qualities in him? From one scapula to the other your fingers drifted, positioning a shiver to sweep down and rest uncomfortably in his tail bone. Yeah. You noticed. He wanted to do that old-time sideways dance with you.“Answer Rocky question.” He was impatient again. Not just impatient. Bossy. “Important.”

Ryland shared a spotted glance with you as you trailed back to the lab table to continue what you were working on before, knowing fully well that he watched every move that you made down to the miniscule breathing. You needed to finish dictating notes for the probe's journey back home from your messy handwriting and Ryland’s quick paced scribbles. There was a lingering thought as you stared at the scattered papers about the descriptions used. Messy. Quick paced. Did Ryland like it like that?

Rocky had additional questions. Ten, in fact. Ryland and you only managed to get through about… Two more. One about the aforementioned phases that your Human bodies went through to signal the desire to reproduce and basic anatomy that differentiated males and females as Rocky came to the very clear understanding that it played a very pivotal role in Human reproduction.

Ryland had managed those two answers out and when the very important, in Rocky’s words, question of orgasms came in after he had mistakenly and very regrettably mentioned it in passing, the scientist shut it down with complete and very attractive authority. “I’ll answer that for you in about---” He faux glanced at his watch, the lighting bouncing off his glasses, “Never.”

It was still the cause of your laughter some time later as the ship began to wind down for a pseudo night. It was hard to tell in the deep and dark empties of space what actually qualified as a night, but when Rocky requested to be watched, it turned into night in an instant. At this point, it was just a matter of waiting until the Eridian went numb and lifeless to continue. Maybe? Hopefully? Where you were interrupted earlier.

Ryland just hoped that you still wanted it and your reactions earlier, as pleasing as they were to think about now with the heightened knowledge that he could get you feeling that way in the first place, he worried that it was just a heat of the moment thing brought on by the exaggerated isolation of being so far from other humans.

Just… stillness surrounded the two of you, now propped in the dimmed bedroom as Rocky slept in his allotted corner. That itself caused a lot of contention as Ryland tried to explain to him at the time of setting up that two people - you and he - could not sleep in the same bed for a number of reasons thus needed more space to spread out and a compromise was made. Rocky got more space.

Ryland leaned back against the xenonite enclosure, using your bunched up hoodie that had been abandoned from your hips as a makeshift pillow. It was not as luminant in the room, there was some hope that one of you would take the opportunity to rest, while Rocky did and the other would watch. Ryland suggested you sleep and he’d stay up to watch. And boy… He was watching you intently, the sleepy lighting of the dormitory fauxing shadows along the bare skin of your arms as you now only wore one of the white mission t-shirts that the ship had plenty in stock of along with a pair of the rather comfy and cozy navy sweatpants that were also supplied. He was particularly transfixed in the way that you ran the brush through your hair and tucked it back behind your ears. It usually was in a tight pony or a bun to keep out of your face during anti-gravity and experiments so seeing it down, seeing you… Vulnerable made Ryland shift in his spot. You wanted him to see you like that. “You know,” He started saying a bit too loudly, dialing back a bit out of habit even though he knew consciously that Rocky was down for the count for at least another few hours, “I’ve explained stellar physics with less stress than that conversation.”

You smiled at that, grabbing hold of a tiny vial of what looked like unscented lotion you kept in the nook next to your bed space. “If it’s any consultation, you did great.”

“I absolutely did not.” Ryland shook his head, “I made it so… awkward.”

“You didn’t pass out,” You pointed out in a quiet tone of affirmation, Ryland suppressing an almost audible sound at the way that you applied lotion to your skin. He wanted to do that. He wanted to touch. “That’s a win.”

He huffed a laugh, then shook his head as you crawled into your bedspace. Just a small twin sized mattress on the floor. On the other side of the console in the room was Ryland’s space. He looked over at it for a few shameful seconds as he admittedly thought about bringing it over and sharing a larger space with you because how could he do what he wanted to do with you on twin size? “I just—of all the things to try to explain to an alien…”

“Hey,” There was something softer in your voice now that caused Ryland to whirl, the sound of movement hitting his eardrums and when he brought his full, captive attention back to you, you had made your way on your hands and knees to him and were nearly propped between his own. It gave him quite a startle, swallowing down a lump that had rapidly formed in his throat. “Don’t beat yourself up. It’s not an easy topic for anyone to talk about. Especially to an alien who doesn’t understand half the things we say.”

You were close to him - unbearably so and he could almost feel the shatter of his pupils dilating as he looked you up and down, stiffening in response as you readjusted to sit in front of him. Still so close, Ryland adjusted his legs a bit so you were encased in them ever so slightly. His thigh pressed against the small of your back as you brought your knees up to your chest and rested your head against the fold of your arms as you hugged them gently.

“I guess… it helped not being the only one.” He raised his hand and lightly let his pinky trace at your forearm. Soft.

You gazed at his finger on your body, goosebumps rising where he touched before trailing your half-lidded eyes up the taut skin that pulled over his arms and could see the minor flex of the muscle underneath with his very gentle movements. “What do you mean?”

Ryland hesitated, pulling back his touch for a moment as he finally admitted, “Meaning you were there. With me, having to explain. You made it… Easier.”

“I can’t really go anywhere.” There was a teasing tinge to your statement, “We’re kind of stuck here together, you know.” “I think I’d still… want you with me even if we weren’t.”

The honesty hung between you. Not heavy. But reassuring. Silence settled in as you waved over his words. Again and again, but it wasn’t awkward. Not like before. You hadn’t moved away from him at all or given any signals that he was rejected. Which, ha ha. Ryland laughed at his own self-inflicted obvious nature, he was surprised he was able to understand very clearly what the shift was between the two of you with his profound statement. There was a quiet understanding, something both of you were waiting to commit to. It was just time that was needed for the choice to be made.

Ryland was timid to move, letting the expanse of his large hand grasp at your forearm to pull you away from holding onto your knees. There was minor reluctance. If you made the choice to go forward, what was… going to happen? How far was it going to go? He licked his lips, the action spurring something in you as warmth encased your thoughts.

You let him move you, urging in silence as your arms unwrapped to be held by Ryland as you crawled to close the gap. Carefully, he helped you into his lap, legs tucked on either side of his hips and with a rise of that body part himself, he got as comfortable under you as he possibly could as your hands dived between your two bodies to trace the thick waistband of his sweatpants before trailing upwards to rest on his broad chest, pulling along the very thin fabric of his t-shirt. There, you allowed a few seconds of indulgence, your smaller fingertips casing around his pectorals. He suppressed what could be construed as a whimper. One hand stayed there, it was being used as leverage to make sure you didn't tumble face first into him, and the other ran to his neck.

He let out a quiet breath, quivering around the edges at the sensation it rocketed through him. Ryland couldn’t even remember the last time someone touched him, let alone touched him like this. Carefully, your hand exploded there and you traced the vague outline of his Adam's apple, the pulse of his jugular before setting to cup right under his ear so he couldn’t look away from you. Not that he wanted to in the slightest. “Y-You know what Rocky said about trust,” Ryland grasped your waist, hesitating for half a second before that action moved to his hands on your back, pushing your upper half towards him gently. The motion was incredibly fluid and you helped out as best you could in your position, snuggling that much closer. “About… choice?” “I can’t get it out of my mind.” You admitted sweetly, careening your eyes to peer at Ryland’s mouth. You could feel his breath against your face coming in hot and sharp waves and you wanted nothing more than to continue drinking them up like water. “And you… trust me…?” Ryland drew a deep breath in, letting it linger in his lungs for in the air was the very obvious scent you gave off that caused his body chemistry to skyrocket. “Because w-we don’t have to if you—” He started and it took nearly all of your muscles to keep him from standing up and abandoning the prospect of going any further.

“Ryland.” Oh that was nice… He stopped shuffling beneath you and tilted his head back enough to look you face to face fully. You… never called him by his first name like that before and the way it tumbled from you so seamlessly, so… His jaw clenched slightly. Affectionately… Made him want to burst. “I want to… I’m… choosing to.”

Choice. Right, he nodded at that and shut his eyes slowly in understanding… In… Submission. In choice. The temptation was at its finest as the hand that had been cupping around his ear lightly plucked the golden framed glasses from his face. They made their new home, at least for the time being, on the floor beside you. Slowly, you began tracing the line that formed from his thick eyelashes against the top of his cheekbones with a delicate fingertip. Ryland shuddered in a breath as your touch dipped to his bottom lip where you lightly traced. His stubble tickled, but it felt good against your skin, his mouth propping open just enough to allow you to pull at the bottom lip before releasing, relishing in the bounce it gave. This was always about choice. “Kiss me.” Ryland was almost whimpering as he balled his hands into the fabric of your shirt. Not to get it off, which was a thought for a second, but to get you closer to him. He needed you. “Please…”

It was tentative to start, your mouth falling onto his like you were a shy schoolgirl, like both of you were still half-expecting to mess it up. You had to force that idea out of your mind as Ryland responded, a few moments delayed like he needed the time to process that yes. This was actually happening. The pressure of your mouth against his was a thing, and it was a delicious thing as he slacked his jaw enough to respond.

His lips shuffled, carefully at first as he treaded what was to be considered very sacred ground. He must have known what you needed, his hands collapsed from your back and were brought up to hold you in place, Ryland almost squeezing the sides of your face before resting his slender fingers into your hair, so deeply that it felt like he was rubbing your skull.

His bottom lip quavered, contact breaking only for a second to get readjusted before he dove back in with a bit more vehemence. As if surprising himself, Ryland let a small sound out against your rounded mouth which was happily eaten up by you the moment that it happened. It felt like Ryland was going insane as your lips experimentally slid open against his, giving him access to the inside. It was a happy invitation he got to explore with your tongue, the idea of mixing saliva usually a rather grotesque thought but once it was put into practice with you? Ryland needed more as you swept your hands into his thick blonde hair, giving him a small tug where his hairline connected the base of his head to the neck. It only encouraged him to groan again as the scientist turned teacher holding your face dropped his heavy hands and wrapped one of his long arms around you.

You wondered what he was doing but was in too much of a heat to truly question, your mouth separating from his and planting kisses along his stubbly jawline earning you a chuckle mixed with a gasp when you nipped at what felt like a sensitive spot closer to the concave of where his jaw met the shell of his ear. If he wanted to toss you around like a ragdoll, where were you to stop it?

Ryland used what little momentum he was able to muster up to shift the position bit by bit until he was able to fully enclose you and lift enough to place you on your back. The floor shattered out a small ‘clatter’ at the readjusted weight. Ryland slotted himself between your open legs and that garnered him the first sound from you that came from deep within your chest as hips connected to hips, hands flying up to grasp at his forearms as he grinded into the sensation between his legs. The internal instinct was so disappointed in the lack of nakedness, but he had to remind himself that it was only a matter of time and not to jump the gun. He swallowed hard, pulling away for a moment to really… take it all in. You were breathing heavily, mouth swollen from the impact kisses he had been giving you and a blush was heating up your skin and the once tidy brushed hair was now an onslaught of tangles beneath you. The ship hummed softly, finally coming into the forefront as it mixed with panting from both of you. “How l-long have you been holding out on me?” He joked at you, savoring the way it felt as you brought your legs up to wrap around the narrowing of his waist. “That was… wow…” You nodded in agreement as he brought his face down to kiss your lips, slowly this time and he collapsed a bit further down on his forearms, crunching your chest with his. Carefully. “Maybe a month,” Ryland smiled against your mouth at your honest answer. “maybe two.” Your hands landed on his shoulderblades, “I should be asking you the same thing, Ryland. Seems like you were really pent up. Are all Molecular biologists wound up so tight?”

“Kiss me again and I might just have to give you an answer to that.” “Promises, promises.” You said sarcastically with a smile as he captured your lips full on once again, ready to start the process all over again, hopefully, getting a step farther.

You’d never get tired of this, the feeling of your mate’s hot and long fingers sliding delicately through your core. The way that, over the years, he’s meticulously learned where to curl, where to pluck and where to stagnant. It felt fuzzy, your entire self as Ryland’s face finally came into view as he readjusted himself above. He was propped carefully above you, the heaviness between his own legs incredibly evident as you peeped a glance at it and rattled yourself with more excitement that made your eyes roll back. It’d be his turn as soon as this was over, but hey… Ryland was patient.

Especially with the arch your body gave off the bed. Ryland he was doing just fine, his mouth parted semi-dry as he watched the reactions you gave him through half-lidded eyes. Only he got you to feel this way… That was a satisfying thought he had as you reached down in desperation, bonking with the red watch around his wrist and giving a swivel of your hips against his palm. “R-Ryland. I-I’m so clossse.” “C’mon, sweetheart…” He encouraged you. God you loved it when he did that, giving another wild swing of your hips towards his hand. Dipping his head down, he captured your right breast in his mouth, giving a small suckle before shuffling cutely to the other causing a trail of overt stimulation with his stubble against your skin. He made sure you were watching, and repeated the affection. They needed the same attention after all. All of you needed attention since making the choice to try for a baby. Or as the youngin’s said back home on Earth. Raw-dog it. Ryland had to be getting closer to his 40’s, based on the math ( and that wasn’t even his age considering time dilation! ) and you were rounding closely behind him. The longer you waited and contemplated, the more complications could rise if it were to happen. As if being on Erid didn't bring its own on-set of complications, but those were thoroughly discussed between the two of you and Rocky. Annnd a board of Eridian scientists. Who knew your sex lives were so interesting? “I don’t know why you hold it in. Just…” He sighed dramatically against your heated skin and made it chill for a moment before slowly licking your now taut nipple and brought you back to complete attention to the moment as he murmured huskily, “cum for me.” That was absolutely all you needed as it hit you like a wave. One after the other, Ryland let you ride it as long as you needed as stars exploded behind your squeezed shut eyelids, goosebumps rising against every inch of your exposed skin. No sound emitted from your mouth for a second before long a tenuous groan finally reached his ears. “There we go, good girl.” You swallowed hard at that nickname, remembering fondly the first time you heard it as he slid his fingers out of you, making note to lick them clean. You remembered fondly the first time for everything… And after all this time, it still made you blush. And after all this time, Ryland Grace was not as vanilla as he wanted to lead people to believe. “Now, it’s your turn.” You hushed a whisper into the air, letting your fingertips play around with his collarbone, one of his more sensitive spots before trickling rather intricately between your two bodies. Oh, he was in for a treat. Drawing his bottom lip in, Ryland looked down at you and made eye contact the second your fingertips swirled around the head of his cock. All willpower went out the window and he was jerking his hips towards you. “Pl-please…”

Knock, Knock, Knock. Ryland groaned and dropped his head. “Just ignore it, he’ll go away.” That was easier said than done as you pumped your hand around his hard shaft once again, getting a similar reaction as before but before Ryland was allowed to really dive into the pleasure-

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Knock, Knock, Knock. You were quickly abandoned in the plush bed, watching in hazy amusement as Ryland buzzed a bit, getting the sheet tucked around his narrowed waist, muttering under his breath as he trailed through the living space. His hair was a wild mess, his feet pattering around quietly as you sat up on your forearms as he disappeared out of view. He started speaking even before the door swung open. “Rocky, for the thousandth time, we are not dying, we are---” “Rocky knows.” He hummed to Ryland once the door opened fully, expanding the biodome into the room of what you guessed was the equivalent of an Eridian apartment. House? Whatever it was, it was home for the last few years. Rocky sat diligently in his newly constructed xenonite suit that allowed him to move more freely in the Earth atmosphere that was being mechanically made, “Hello, (Last Name).” “Hey, Rock.” You muttered quietly, a small blush overtaking your features. “You are late. Adrian, children, Rocky wait for you two to come but make us wait 1,800 seconds.” He tapped one of his feet against the ground. 30 minutes. “Do gross Human thing later. We had date.” “That was today?” Ryland grasped the sheet around his waist as it had become loose with his movement as his other hand rose and rubbed the back of his head nervously, “Ah geez, sorry. We forgot. You know, we decided to try for a baby a few months ago, we need to hit (Name)’s ovulation and you know… She’s suckin’ me dry for the next 24 hours.” He joked and the blush on your face darkened as you threw yourself back on the bed with a groan. “Ryland, seriously!?” Your voice sounded embarrassed.

Rocky was very… unamused. “Grace and (Last Name) have 300 seconds to meet otherwise Adrian will come talk to them. Adrian is not as forgiving, will be mad, mad, mad.”

Ryland felt a cold sweat hit him, “No, no. That’s not needed! 300 seconds,” He gave a thumbs up and almost dropped the sheet around his waist which made you laugh as you swung your legs over the side of the bed. “Got it.”

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