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How to Train Your Dragon
A Gift from the Gods (Hiccup x F!Reader)
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Project Hail Mary
Another Believer (Ryland Grace x F!Reader)
Masterlist
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Another Believer (19)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.6K
Warnings: Talk of Rocky's dead crewmates
A/N: <3
Masterlist
It wasn’t long before Ryland returned down the tunnel with his arms full of technology.
Your eyes glance over it all curiously while he takes a seat on the ledge where he had been before your little miscommunication with Rocky.
It was a tablet taped haphazardly to a portable laptop, a program already pulled up with an idea of how it was meant to be used. He shows the mash of tech to Rocky with a proud smile tugging at his lips.
“Check this out.”
Rocky gives a little grunting, curious sound as his carapace moves between the screens and Ryland, and you can’t help but wonder if he can actually see what Ryland was trying to show him due to his use of echolocation to see.
“I thought I might record you.”
Ryland explains, while holding up a little microphone that he had plugged into the computer. This seems to freak Rocky out, though, the alien giving a little shriek while moving back from the object.
He must think it’s some sort of human weapon.
“It’s okay, Rocky.” You quickly try to soothe, moving to sit on another ledge nearby Ryland, who glances at you through the corner of his eye before looking back at the alien.
“Oh, no no. Nope. It’s okay; it’s just a microphone.” Ryland holds it up to his lips, speaking into it to try and show that it meant no threat, “Works like this. You say, uh… let’s start with one.”
Ryland grabs the clock from before, holding it up to Rocky and pointing at the taped number one to show the alien, who holds up one of his claws slightly while making a small chirping sound to repeat after Ryland.
You watch as Ryland scrambles to grab the microphone and hold it up to the barrier separating you and Rocky, humming a small chuckle at his slight struggle.
“No, no, wait, wait. Sorry.”
Ryland glances over at you with a glare that has no true heat behind it before his attention is taken back when Rocky repeats the sound, this time, into the microphone. He sets the microphone down, typing what the sound meant into the computer.
“Okay. And… one.”
Ryland presses a few more buttons before the chirped sound meaning ‘one’ is repeated back to Rocky, who perks up and makes a few squeaking sounds in delight. A smile instantly overtakes your lips at the new revelation, Ryland rubbing his hands together happily.
This was a start!
—
“So… uh… we met an alien.”
Ryland speaks to the camera he had set up, where he had begun recording logs to send back to Earth, something he had started doing only here and there since there wasn’t much that needed to be updated before meeting Rocky.
Usually, you stayed out of the small videos, instead keeping to the side or in another room altogether, not really knowing how you could include yourself in them.
But this time, you stood beside Ryland, the excited look on your face reflected back at you on the screen.
“An intelligent alien.”
You include while Ryland begins to unroll some duct tape for the latest thing his brain had determined needed to be worked on.
“And we’re learning to communicate.”
Ryland continues, holding the duct tape up silently, expectantly towards you as you grab the scissors from the table, cutting the strip off for him.
The two of you had started doing that since meeting Rocky, knowing what the other expected of you, even if you didn’t communicate it.
It made you nervous at first, but you grew used to the feeling the same way you had grown used to the memories slowly being filtered into your mind.
It felt like learning to breathe again.
—
“Names.”
Ryland had handed you the microphone, wanting you to hold it up to Rocky while he put the words into the computer to make the process a lot smoother than before.
Due to how short the cord was between the microphone and the computer, you now sit on the same ledge as him, although now you’re a little squished between him and the wall. You did well to quell the flutter in your stomach every time your arms brushed, instead keeping your gaze on Rocky just in case your face couldn’t hide the expression very well.
“Okay, let’s start with you.”
Ryland prompts, causing you to hold the microphone up closer to the wall. Rocky, now understanding what he needed to do, leans towards the microphone. He puts his claws together, just like he had done before, and sings the song of his name.
You’re just as mesmerised as you were last time, wishing desperately that you could speak the language so you could fully understand the words he was speaking.
The song fizzles out, Ryland looking at Rocky and asking a quick, “You done?” To which Rocky responds with a little trill.
While Ryland looks down to type ‘Rocky’ into the computer, you watch as Rocky’s carapace turns between you and Ryland, like he had started doing during the silence.
As if he were making sure that you both were still there when you weren’t making sounds.
“Alright, Starshine, your turn.”
Ryland looks back up at Rocky before his gaze drifts down to the name patch on your suit, and he slightly freezes. Of course, he had forgotten that they had put his last name on your patch instead of your own.
Noticing his gaze, you glance down at the patch yourself before your eyes flicker up to meet Ryland’s.
Something stirs in the two of you, unnamed and sharp, but no memories of the reasoning would appear. A cruel trick from both of your minds.
Ryland, desperately needing to avert his focus, clears his throat and looks back at Rocky while saying your first name. Rocky paused for a little while, as if he were determining how he would say your name in his language.
The alien suddenly perks up, and he releases a soft note, a soothing little sound that ends with a gentle trill.
You felt honored to have your name associated with such a pretty noise.
Ryland hums appreciatively at the small note Rocky had released while typing your name into the computer.
“Alright. My name is… I can’t wait to hear this-”
Ryland points to the nametag on his suit, looking up at Rocky expectantly.
“Is Grace. What’s your word for my name? Go ahead.”
You watch eagerly as Rocky perks up just like he had done for you.
Only to release a little grunt, that sounded more like a burp than anything else, and gesture at Ryland with one of his claws.
Oh…
A burst of laughter instantly erupts from you, filling the tunnel with its sound as Ryland practically deflates at Rocky’s word for his name.
Rocky instantly copies the sound with his own high-pitched warbles.
Ryland looks between the two of you exasperatedly, but it isn’t long before his own small chuckle joins the sound, and he gives your side a gentle nudge.
“It was not that funny.”
“It really is, though, My Grace.”
The nickname leaves you as easily as ‘Starshine’ had left Ryland’s lips.
And he doesn’t do anything to correct you.
Not a damn thing.
—
Ryland holds the computer he had been typing words into up to show the camera while you continue to cut some more duct tape for him.
“You know, enough to order at restaurants. We have about 250 words.”
He sets the computer down, gently taking the cut pieces of duct tape from you to help stabilize the computer and tablet more.
“Our atmosphere would kill him, and his, us. But… I like to keep a wall up in my relationships anyway.”
Ryland grunts at the gentle way your hip nudges his when you stand from the chair and walk towards another lab table to grab him a fresh roll of duct tape, his gaze instantly snapping over to follow your form as it walks away.
A grin, soft and gentle, unknowingly makes its way to his lips as he watches you.
Which he quickly wipes away when he looks back at the camera and notices it etched onto his face.
“He’s a mechanic, I think-”
“Maybe an inventor.” You call out as you continue digging, a frustrated sound leaving you when the roll slips deeper into the drawer.
Which, thankfully to Ryland, wasn’t the one with the picture in it.
“Could be. He uses a metal form of Xenon. He can make anything, and… look at this.”
Your glance over right when Ryland picks up the camera, shuffling it around slightly in his hands and walking over towards a lab table where you kept all of Rocky’s gifts.
He holds the camera out in front of him with one hand while his other hand holds the little strip of metal that Rocky had made for the two of you.
“I’m calling it ‘Xenonite’. And if we can’t understand what he’s saying, which is mostly me and most of the time-” He grabs the little model of the ship Rocky had made, showing it off to the camera.
“He puts on a little puppet show for me and my tiny brain, and you know what? I don’t mind it.”
“You are a visual learner, My Grace.”
Your voice pops in the background, the fun fact popping into your brain at just the right moment as you look over towards where he stood.
Still holding the camera, Ryland looks over the edge of it to look at you, giving you a slight smile.
—
With the camera back in place and you sitting back beside him after placing the new roll on the table, Ryland continues talking while your hands now mess with a loose string found on one of his shirts, carefully pulling it taut so you can cut it.
There was just so much to talk about their new friend.
“He’s kinda growing on me- at least he’s not growing in me, you know, which was a concern for a little while.”
Your hands pause as your eyes flick up to stare at Ryland, your eyebrow raising slightly at his words before giving a slight shake of your head and a small chuckle bubbling past your lips.
“You are the only one concerned about it.”
Ryland dismisses you with a wave of his hand, but the smile tugging at the corner of his lips proves that he meant nothing by it before he continues with what he wanted to say to the camera.
“His sun is dying, too. Maybe we can help each other.”
—
The two of you stand back in the tunnel in front of Rocky, side by side.
In one of Ryland’s hands, he holds the computer, while the other holds a vial of astrophage he had found while searching through the lab.
“Recognize this?”
Rocky looks up from whatever he had been making. A soft mix of a shriek and a growl escapes the alien when he notices what Ryland is holding. Your brows furrow a little at his reaction, a pang of hurt flashing in your heart at just the sound that Rocky had made.
He is affected by the stuff as much as you were.
“We call it ‘Astrophage’. Means star eater.”
Rocky copies the word in his own language by giving a few clicks and notes, and Ryland adjusts his grip to type the unknown sound into the computer.
He makes the sound again before repeating the same grunt over and over. Your eyes look at the computer in Ryland’s hands as he speaks out the words as they appear.
“Astrophage on me star. Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad- yeah. Same.”
“We have the same problem, Rocky.”
You voice out as Ryland sets the computer on a nearby stand that he had set up, taking a seat while you move to stand behind him.
A few cooed trills escape Rocky, both of your eyes moving to the screen as the words appear.
‘Rocky happy not alone.’
Gosh, that hurt your heart even more as Ryland gave a slow nod, looking back over towards where Rocky had situated himself while he created.
“Why are you alone?”
Rocky gives a few sung notes while his claws flex open and close.
‘Was twenty-three Eridians on ship. Now only one.’
“Twenty-three?” You gasp out in a whisper, eyes quickly moving to look back at Rocky.
“Wow.” Ryland voices in his own soft tone, the air around the three of you instantly becoming heavy with the realization of how alone Rocky truly had been, “What happened to them?”
Rocky makes a few trills while slowly lying down and going still. Ryland fixes the unknown word on the computer.
‘Died.’
“I’m sorry.”
You’re glad Ryland voices the words that had come to your brain, as your throat had instantly closed up in pure sadness for the alien across from you.
Though without memories, at least you and Ryland had each other.
Rocky… had no one.
“How did they die?” Ryland asked after a few quiet seconds passed through the tunnel.
Rocky sings a few notes and trills.
‘Rocky not know. Only Rocky not died. Rocky could not fix.’
You quickly bring your hand up to your lips, feeling the familiar sting beginning to grow behind your eyes, which you stubbornly try to blink away.
“That’s awful.” You whisper weakly to Ryland, whose gaze travels up at your trembly tone. Silently, he reaches a hand out, a slow move while Rocky trills once again. His fingers gently intertwine with the hand limp against your side.
He gives a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
‘How many humans on Grace ship, question?’
Ryland’s hand slowly slips free from yours as he removes his glasses to wipe them on his shirt.
“Oh, um… There were four of us, and two died on the way here. I wish I knew why. Now… it’s only us.”
Rocky gives a few clicks and trills, seconds passing before the computer picks up what the alien had said.
“Only us and Rocky.’
A small bubble of laughter escapes you at the words, the air slowly thinning into something hopeful as you reach up to use your sleeve to wipe at your eyes.
“Correction.” Ryland hums around his own chuckle as he uses his hands to gesture between you two and Rocky.
Another set of gentle coos leaves Rocky.
‘Grace Starshine Rocky save stars.’
You and Ryland take in the sentence with a few breaths escaping you, your smile only beginning to widen at the realization that Rocky was also calling you starshine. Ryland must have input that into the computer when you weren’t paying attention.
Ryland stands from the chair, making his way over towards the wall. You watch from your spot near the computer as he puts a fist up against the wall separating you and Rocky.
Rocky only stares for a second before bringing up a claw and gently thumping it against the wall where Ryland’s is.
“Deal.” Ryland slowly pulls away from the wall after a few seconds of observing the alien, “That’s called a fist bump, by the way.”
Rocky trills as Ryland walks back over to the computer to put on his glasses. You catch sight of the sentence first, laughter echoing down the tunnel as the mood finally lifts into something brighter.
“Fist my bump?!” Ryland echoes the sentence, glancing over at you as you laugh, his own smile crawling its way onto his face, “No, it’s fist bump.”
Rocky makes a few notes.
‘It same.’
“It’s not the same.” Ryland sighs.
Your laughter dies into a smile as you look between Rocky and Ryland, and you find yourself cherishing the moment.
Something finally settles in you, an assurance.
Things might be okay.
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@moon-trash1507 @bigolidioot @shittyprofilebutfuckit @casey1-2007
Another Believer (19)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.6K
Warnings: Talk of Rocky's dead crewmates
A/N: <3
Masterlist
It wasn’t long before Ryland returned down the tunnel with his arms full of technology.
Your eyes glance over it all curiously while he takes a seat on the ledge where he had been before your little miscommunication with Rocky.
It was a tablet taped haphazardly to a portable laptop, a program already pulled up with an idea of how it was meant to be used. He shows the mash of tech to Rocky with a proud smile tugging at his lips.
“Check this out.”
Rocky gives a little grunting, curious sound as his carapace moves between the screens and Ryland, and you can’t help but wonder if he can actually see what Ryland was trying to show him due to his use of echolocation to see.
“I thought I might record you.”
Ryland explains, while holding up a little microphone that he had plugged into the computer. This seems to freak Rocky out, though, the alien giving a little shriek while moving back from the object.
He must think it’s some sort of human weapon.
“It’s okay, Rocky.” You quickly try to soothe, moving to sit on another ledge nearby Ryland, who glances at you through the corner of his eye before looking back at the alien.
“Oh, no no. Nope. It’s okay; it’s just a microphone.” Ryland holds it up to his lips, speaking into it to try and show that it meant no threat, “Works like this. You say, uh… let’s start with one.”
Ryland grabs the clock from before, holding it up to Rocky and pointing at the taped number one to show the alien, who holds up one of his claws slightly while making a small chirping sound to repeat after Ryland.
You watch as Ryland scrambles to grab the microphone and hold it up to the barrier separating you and Rocky, humming a small chuckle at his slight struggle.
“No, no, wait, wait. Sorry.”
Ryland glances over at you with a glare that has no true heat behind it before his attention is taken back when Rocky repeats the sound, this time, into the microphone. He sets the microphone down, typing what the sound meant into the computer.
“Okay. And… one.”
Ryland presses a few more buttons before the chirped sound meaning ‘one’ is repeated back to Rocky, who perks up and makes a few squeaking sounds in delight. A smile instantly overtakes your lips at the new revelation, Ryland rubbing his hands together happily.
This was a start!
—
“So… uh… we met an alien.”
Ryland speaks to the camera he had set up, where he had begun recording logs to send back to Earth, something he had started doing only here and there since there wasn’t much that needed to be updated before meeting Rocky.
Usually, you stayed out of the small videos, instead keeping to the side or in another room altogether, not really knowing how you could include yourself in them.
But this time, you stood beside Ryland, the excited look on your face reflected back at you on the screen.
“An intelligent alien.”
You include while Ryland begins to unroll some duct tape for the latest thing his brain had determined needed to be worked on.
“And we’re learning to communicate.”
Ryland continues, holding the duct tape up silently, expectantly towards you as you grab the scissors from the table, cutting the strip off for him.
The two of you had started doing that since meeting Rocky, knowing what the other expected of you, even if you didn’t communicate it.
It made you nervous at first, but you grew used to the feeling the same way you had grown used to the memories slowly being filtered into your mind.
It felt like learning to breathe again.
—
“Names.”
Ryland had handed you the microphone, wanting you to hold it up to Rocky while he put the words into the computer to make the process a lot smoother than before.
Due to how short the cord was between the microphone and the computer, you now sit on the same ledge as him, although now you’re a little squished between him and the wall. You did well to quell the flutter in your stomach every time your arms brushed, instead keeping your gaze on Rocky just in case your face couldn’t hide the expression very well.
“Okay, let’s start with you.”
Ryland prompts, causing you to hold the microphone up closer to the wall. Rocky, now understanding what he needed to do, leans towards the microphone. He puts his claws together, just like he had done before, and sings the song of his name.
You’re just as mesmerised as you were last time, wishing desperately that you could speak the language so you could fully understand the words he was speaking.
The song fizzles out, Ryland looking at Rocky and asking a quick, “You done?” To which Rocky responds with a little trill.
While Ryland looks down to type ‘Rocky’ into the computer, you watch as Rocky’s carapace turns between you and Ryland, like he had started doing during the silence.
As if he were making sure that you both were still there when you weren’t making sounds.
“Alright, Starshine, your turn.”
Ryland looks back up at Rocky before his gaze drifts down to the name patch on your suit, and he slightly freezes. Of course, he had forgotten that they had put his last name on your patch instead of your own.
Noticing his gaze, you glance down at the patch yourself before your eyes flicker up to meet Ryland’s.
Something stirs in the two of you, unnamed and sharp, but no memories of the reasoning would appear. A cruel trick from both of your minds.
Ryland, desperately needing to avert his focus, clears his throat and looks back at Rocky while saying your first name. Rocky paused for a little while, as if he were determining how he would say your name in his language.
The alien suddenly perks up, and he releases a soft note, a soothing little sound that ends with a gentle trill.
You felt honored to have your name associated with such a pretty noise.
Ryland hums appreciatively at the small note Rocky had released while typing your name into the computer.
“Alright. My name is… I can’t wait to hear this-”
Ryland points to the nametag on his suit, looking up at Rocky expectantly.
“Is Grace. What’s your word for my name? Go ahead.”
You watch eagerly as Rocky perks up just like he had done for you.
Only to release a little grunt, that sounded more like a burp than anything else, and gesture at Ryland with one of his claws.
Oh…
A burst of laughter instantly erupts from you, filling the tunnel with its sound as Ryland practically deflates at Rocky’s word for his name.
Rocky instantly copies the sound with his own high-pitched warbles.
Ryland looks between the two of you exasperatedly, but it isn’t long before his own small chuckle joins the sound, and he gives your side a gentle nudge.
“It was not that funny.”
“It really is, though, My Grace.”
The nickname leaves you as easily as ‘Starshine’ had left Ryland’s lips.
And he doesn’t do anything to correct you.
Not a damn thing.
—
Ryland holds the computer he had been typing words into up to show the camera while you continue to cut some more duct tape for him.
“You know, enough to order at restaurants. We have about 250 words.”
He sets the computer down, gently taking the cut pieces of duct tape from you to help stabilize the computer and tablet more.
“Our atmosphere would kill him, and his, us. But… I like to keep a wall up in my relationships anyway.”
Ryland grunts at the gentle way your hip nudges his when you stand from the chair and walk towards another lab table to grab him a fresh roll of duct tape, his gaze instantly snapping over to follow your form as it walks away.
A grin, soft and gentle, unknowingly makes its way to his lips as he watches you.
Which he quickly wipes away when he looks back at the camera and notices it etched onto his face.
“He’s a mechanic, I think-”
“Maybe an inventor.” You call out as you continue digging, a frustrated sound leaving you when the roll slips deeper into the drawer.
Which, thankfully to Ryland, wasn’t the one with the picture in it.
“Could be. He uses a metal form of Xenon. He can make anything, and… look at this.”
Your glance over right when Ryland picks up the camera, shuffling it around slightly in his hands and walking over towards a lab table where you kept all of Rocky’s gifts.
He holds the camera out in front of him with one hand while his other hand holds the little strip of metal that Rocky had made for the two of you.
“I’m calling it ‘Xenonite’. And if we can’t understand what he’s saying, which is mostly me and most of the time-” He grabs the little model of the ship Rocky had made, showing it off to the camera.
“He puts on a little puppet show for me and my tiny brain, and you know what? I don’t mind it.”
“You are a visual learner, My Grace.”
Your voice pops in the background, the fun fact popping into your brain at just the right moment as you look over towards where he stood.
Still holding the camera, Ryland looks over the edge of it to look at you, giving you a slight smile.
—
With the camera back in place and you sitting back beside him after placing the new roll on the table, Ryland continues talking while your hands now mess with a loose string found on one of his shirts, carefully pulling it taut so you can cut it.
There was just so much to talk about their new friend.
“He’s kinda growing on me- at least he’s not growing in me, you know, which was a concern for a little while.”
Your hands pause as your eyes flick up to stare at Ryland, your eyebrow raising slightly at his words before giving a slight shake of your head and a small chuckle bubbling past your lips.
“You are the only one concerned about it.”
Ryland dismisses you with a wave of his hand, but the smile tugging at the corner of his lips proves that he meant nothing by it before he continues with what he wanted to say to the camera.
“His sun is dying, too. Maybe we can help each other.”
—
The two of you stand back in the tunnel in front of Rocky, side by side.
In one of Ryland’s hands, he holds the computer, while the other holds a vial of astrophage he had found while searching through the lab.
“Recognize this?”
Rocky looks up from whatever he had been making. A soft mix of a shriek and a growl escapes the alien when he notices what Ryland is holding. Your brows furrow a little at his reaction, a pang of hurt flashing in your heart at just the sound that Rocky had made.
He is affected by the stuff as much as you were.
“We call it ‘Astrophage’. Means star eater.”
Rocky copies the word in his own language by giving a few clicks and notes, and Ryland adjusts his grip to type the unknown sound into the computer.
He makes the sound again before repeating the same grunt over and over. Your eyes look at the computer in Ryland’s hands as he speaks out the words as they appear.
“Astrophage on me star. Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad- yeah. Same.”
“We have the same problem, Rocky.”
You voice out as Ryland sets the computer on a nearby stand that he had set up, taking a seat while you move to stand behind him.
A few cooed trills escape Rocky, both of your eyes moving to the screen as the words appear.
‘Rocky happy not alone.’
Gosh, that hurt your heart even more as Ryland gave a slow nod, looking back over towards where Rocky had situated himself while he created.
“Why are you alone?”
Rocky gives a few sung notes while his claws flex open and close.
‘Was twenty-three Eridians on ship. Now only one.’
“Twenty-three?” You gasp out in a whisper, eyes quickly moving to look back at Rocky.
“Wow.” Ryland voices in his own soft tone, the air around the three of you instantly becoming heavy with the realization of how alone Rocky truly had been, “What happened to them?”
Rocky makes a few trills while slowly lying down and going still. Ryland fixes the unknown word on the computer.
‘Died.’
“I’m sorry.”
You’re glad Ryland voices the words that had come to your brain, as your throat had instantly closed up in pure sadness for the alien across from you.
Though without memories, at least you and Ryland had each other.
Rocky… had no one.
“How did they die?” Ryland asked after a few quiet seconds passed through the tunnel.
Rocky sings a few notes and trills.
‘Rocky not know. Only Rocky not died. Rocky could not fix.’
You quickly bring your hand up to your lips, feeling the familiar sting beginning to grow behind your eyes, which you stubbornly try to blink away.
“That’s awful.” You whisper weakly to Ryland, whose gaze travels up at your trembly tone. Silently, he reaches a hand out, a slow move while Rocky trills once again. His fingers gently intertwine with the hand limp against your side.
He gives a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
‘How many humans on Grace ship, question?’
Ryland’s hand slowly slips free from yours as he removes his glasses to wipe them on his shirt.
“Oh, um… There were four of us, and two died on the way here. I wish I knew why. Now… it’s only us.”
Rocky gives a few clicks and trills, seconds passing before the computer picks up what the alien had said.
“Only us and Rocky.’
A small bubble of laughter escapes you at the words, the air slowly thinning into something hopeful as you reach up to use your sleeve to wipe at your eyes.
“Correction.” Ryland hums around his own chuckle as he uses his hands to gesture between you two and Rocky.
Another set of gentle coos leaves Rocky.
‘Grace Starshine Rocky save stars.’
You and Ryland take in the sentence with a few breaths escaping you, your smile only beginning to widen at the realization that Rocky was also calling you starshine. Ryland must have input that into the computer when you weren’t paying attention.
Ryland stands from the chair, making his way over towards the wall. You watch from your spot near the computer as he puts a fist up against the wall separating you and Rocky.
Rocky only stares for a second before bringing up a claw and gently thumping it against the wall where Ryland’s is.
“Deal.” Ryland slowly pulls away from the wall after a few seconds of observing the alien, “That’s called a fist bump, by the way.”
Rocky trills as Ryland walks back over to the computer to put on his glasses. You catch sight of the sentence first, laughter echoing down the tunnel as the mood finally lifts into something brighter.
“Fist my bump?!” Ryland echoes the sentence, glancing over at you as you laugh, his own smile crawling its way onto his face, “No, it’s fist bump.”
Rocky makes a few notes.
‘It same.’
“It’s not the same.” Ryland sighs.
Your laughter dies into a smile as you look between Rocky and Ryland, and you find yourself cherishing the moment.
Something finally settles in you, an assurance.
Things might be okay.
Another Believer (18)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.6K
Warnings: Ryland spirals a little
A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long, everyone! >.< I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thank you to everyone who's been commenting! I love getting to read each and every one of them, and they definitely keep me motivated to keep going!
Masterlist
Ryland’s fingers work quickly with the duct tape in his hands, cutting out thin pieces and rounding the edges of the pieces that need to cover the clock numbers so Rocky would be able to see them with his echolocation.
He couldn’t believe he didn’t think of it before; the fact that Rocky had no eyes should have been a dead giveaway about the fact that the alien didn’t see as you or he did.
A slight cramp slowly begins to form in his hand from how methodical he is being with the small scissors, and he shakes it out as he uses his other hand to tape a piece of thin tape over the ‘1’ on the ‘12’. He needed to make sure that these were perfect for Rocky, knowing that he couldn’t continue making a fool of himself in front of the first alien that any of humanity had contact with.
Opening the drawer beside him to toss the tape roll into it, the things inside tumble around from how quickly he had opened it.
He almost didn’t see it, so focused on tossing the tape roll inside and heading back to the tunnel, but something peeked out at him towards the back of the drawer. The corner of it is bent towards him (something that must have happened during the chaos of zero gravity), like it was taped away, meant to be hidden.
Ryland’s brows furrow in confusion.
What is that?
His brain, now focused on something else, needs to find the answer to the question. Reaching inside, he pushes a few screwdrivers aside, fingers gripping onto the corner and giving a careful pull. He can hear the tap unsticking
Maybe it was something important.
Left for them by whoever sent them into space
It was small, whatever it was, fitting in his hand. Taped to the back of the drawer and hidden with the things inside. He must have missed it in the mayhem that was him dumping out all of the drawers right after he had woken up from the coma and trying to figure out the gravity situation.
Once his arm is out of the drawer, he observes the small rectangular object first. It was white and had a filmish texture with something on it: a date written with a Sharpie and a couple of hearts drawn underneath it. The date resonated deep within him, something special that he should remember. Stupid memory loss.
This definitely was not meant to help them with their space expedition.
Turning it over in his hands, his breath hitches at the sight that meets him.
Of course. It was a Polaroid.
A Polaroid of him and you on the deck of the hangar.
His right arm was wrapped around your waist, holding you close against his side, while your left arm was wrapped around his waist. Both of your smiles were bright as you looked at whoever was taking the picture, and your unoccupied hands connected in front to make the shape of a heart.
Ryland’s hand holding the picture begins to tremble slightly, his eyes roving over the picture as if to take in the details for the first time. Written in the same Sharpie on the little space below the photo was ‘2 Year Anniversary!’ and the same hearts from before were on either side of it.
The memory begins to play.
Salty ocean air, your voice talking to someone, begging them to take the picture-
He hurriedly places the photo back into the drawer before shoving it closed. His breath came quick, gripping onto the edge of the lab desk he had been working on as he squeezed his eyes shut, willing the memory away.
Ryland loved you. Positively, absolutely loved you.
But the Ryland in the picture and the Ryland now gripping onto the edge of the desk were two different people in his mind.
With each memory that flooded his senses, reminding him of who he used to be, the more and more he came to that realization.
Why was he sent here?
Why were you sent here?
He purses his lips between his teeth, using the pressure as a grounding point while counting each breath he takes in and out. Something he remembered you teaching him to help the students who experienced the same troubles.
God, every thought in his brain was surrounded by you.
You were etched in every crevice, every neuron connection that fired somehow contained you.
He hated it.
He hated how ever since you woke up, his body craved being near you, like it was the one thing that kept him sane while the two of you drifted in space. He hated how your bodies knew each other more than your brains did. He hated you-
No…
He could never hate you.
He hated the coma.
Whoever sent the two of you to space.
The Astrophage and how it was killing Earth.
He hated his mind.
What was once his greatest strength had become his Achilles heel.
Ryland squeezes his eyes closed even tighter, if that was even possible.
Flashes of you appear, on the Hail Mary and off. Different moments of you that stuck out to him, whether they were simple, mundane things or not. Images of you that settled deep in his very soul, as if this was his mind trying to appease him for its shortcomings.
He suddenly opens his eyes, blinking as he adjusts to the light, and grips the clock that he had been working on. The plastic squeaks under his grip, continuing to count his breaths as he stares at the blue duct tape covering the numbers. You and Rocky were waiting on him.
Now wasn’t the time for him to lose control.
That could be saved for later in the night once he’s heard your breathing settle into the familiar rhythm of sleep.
The drawer sits closed in front of him, an ominous feeling settling in the pit of his stomach as he stares at it one last time before turning around and heading back towards the airlock hatch.
The picture remains ever-present as he shoves open the hatch.
—
You had moved to sit beside the clear wall while waiting for Ryland to finish with whatever he had decided to do, Rocky moving to be on a ledge on his side of the wall that was closest to you. The way he sat on the ledge reminded you of a cat resting on a windowsill while it basked in the sun.
Loafing.
It was cute, in an alien sort of way.
The two of you sit in comfortable silence, observing each other now that you are in close proximity. Rocky occasionally hums a song to break the silence between you, his way of communicating, and you hum the same tune back.
That seems to please him, as his claws tap together a little every time you do it.
The lights move slightly around you, a shadow passing over, and Rocky shifts to stand on the ledge as a trill leaves him.
Ryland must be back.
Remaining seated, you turn to face the other side of the tunnel, Ryland walking towards you while holding up the clock. It takes you a second before he’s close enough for you to see what he has done.
He put tape over the numbers?
“Echolocation, right? You need surfaces to see. Try this.”
He speaks to Rocky as he holds up the clock once he’s within a distance of the wall. The silence begins again as you use the wall behind you to move to stand, a small groan escaping you from being seated on the uncomfortable tunnel wall for quite some time.
“That would make sense for the measuring tape mishap, too.”
Ryland glances at you out of the corner of his eye as you speak and move a few steps forward to stand beside him. Your attention is so focused on Rocky’s slight movements and his gentle clicking that you don’t notice the slight tightening of Ryland’s fingers around the clock.
No, not now. He wasn’t going to continue to let it affect him.
He clears his throat, more so to try to keep his voice from cracking when he speaks next.
“Yeah.” He responds simply to you before speaking back to Rocky, “You see the numbers?”
Ryland taps the surface of the clock again, trying his hardest to act like before he found the picture. It’s hard, but he wills his fingers to at least not shake as a starting point. You didn’t seem to realize it, at least.
He silently thanked Rocky for being so interesting.
Rocky suddenly chirps excitedly, bouncing slightly and twirling in place while two claws come up.
“What’s that?” Ryland inquires, glad he could focus on something he could figure out, his own hands slightly copying the alien across from him, “Is that good?”
“I think you figured it out.” You chuckle while watching Rocky.
“Jazz hands mean good?”
Rocky continues his little claw movements, even tapping them together as Ryland puts up two thumbs-up.
“We do this. Your version of this-”
Ryland does the jazz hands again, this time adding a bit more movement to his shoulder than Rocky did. You can’t contain the small laugh that escapes you as your gaze moves over to Ryland, watching his movements with a widening smile.
“What are you doing?” Your soft-spoken words are mixed with a slight laughter, clearly enjoying the sight before you.
“I’m teaching him Earth customs… That’s our thumbs-up.” He finishes his little dance by giving a thumbs-up again to Rocky, glancing over at you as he can’t help the slight quirk of his lips into a smile at your enjoyment of his antics.
God, you made it so easy to be normal. And yet, so easy to fall apart.
Rocky responds with a musical note while his claws try to copy Ryland. But instead of a thumb-up, his claws are pointed in a thumbs-down.
Your laughter only seems to grow at the miscommunication between Ryland and Rocky.
“No, that’s thumbs-down.”
Man, this was a little harder than Ryland thought. He felt like he was back in the classroom explaining the different cell structures in the human body to a bunch of sixth graders who couldn’t grasp it again.
“We do the thumbs uuuup.”
He drags out the last word while turning his thumbs-down into a thumbs-up, hoping Rocky would follow along with the movement. But the alien only doubled down by doing the move again with another happy musical note.
“That’s close enough.” Ryland sighs out, having a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to change Rocky’s mind about it now that it was cemented into the alien’s brain.
Did it have a brain?
A question for another time.
Your smile is bright as Rocky’s carapace turns towards you, and you give him a thumbs-up in response.
“Good job, Rocky.”
Said alien trills at your words before one claw goes down and the other holds up in a ‘wait’ motion, like Ryland had done earlier, his carapace shifting between you and Ryland.
“You want us to wait?” Ryland gestures to himself and you.
Rocky barely turns before looking back at the two of you and putting up a claw again, almost as if he were making sure that you knew he wanted you to wait.
He was a very tenacious alien.
“We wait?”
“We’ll wait for you, Rocky.” You affirm to Rocky as it ventures further into its dark tunnel, with small grunts escaping him as he goes.
“I’m really, uh…” Ryland calls out after Rocky, clearly unsure of how to fill the air as Rocky goes to gather something, “Really excited to be working with you on this. Fired up.”
Your eyes go from observing the tunnel towards Ryland as he rocks back and forth on his heels, holding the clock behind him. You give a small snort at his obviously awkward behavior, his eyes playfully glaring at you over the rim of his glasses on instinct before looking back at the tunnel, finding Rocky prancing back towards the wall with something held in one of his claws.
Rocky sets the thing onto one of the ledges, the shape of it something hard to describe. It seemed to be built of the same material as the other objects he sent you, slightly long with indents all around the side.
“What have we got here?” Ryland mumbles while leaning closer towards the wall, sitting on one of the ledges closest to it to get a better look.
You tilt your head slightly where you stand, as if hoping the new angle would help you with understanding what Rocky could have brought you… It didn’t.
“He seemed excited to grab it… So, it must be important.”
Both of your brows furrow in intrigued concentration before the object suddenly springs open and the two of you flinch in surprise, Ryland’s hand instinctively reaching out to brush against your own to make sure you’re okay.
Just like he had done when you two first met Rocky, a movement of his body he couldn’t control, an impulse to protect you.
You don’t mention the reach- either too focused on the object or just not wanting to voice it, instead calming it by brushing your knuckles against his.
Silent, assuring.
You both stare as it clicks, the top part moving in a rhythm with the middle part only moving occasionally. Rocky coos slightly in anticipation as he watches the two of you take in the object.
“It’s a clock.”
Ryland finally breathes out after a few silent seconds filled with only the ticking from the object, “I showed you a clock and… you’re showing me a clock.”
The end of his sentence merges with a soft, amazed huff of laughter.
“We’re, uh, clock bros.”
And…
The wonderstruck moment is broken.
Your own huff of laughter escapes you as you shake your head at Ryland’s words.
Rocky, clearly excited by the new development, suddenly bursts into a multitude of different trills and chirps and notes. His claws are moving this way and that as he explains things in a way neither you nor Ryland could follow along.
“Right, um.” The musical sounds continue through Ryland’s confused words.
“Rocky, wait-” Rocky turns to you when you speak, hums of songs you couldn’t understand directed at you as his claws tap and sway.
“I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure I’m getting all of this.”
Your shoulders droop as you glance between Ryland and Rocky, an exasperated look on both of your faces as Rocky just continues his melodious rambling while his carapace turns between the two of you.
“We need to find a better way to communicate.”
Ryland sighs and nods in agreement at your words.
“Give me a minute. I think I might have an idea.” He mumbles before standing from the ledge he had been sitting on with a small grunt of effort and beginning to make his way back towards the ship.
To grab what?
You couldn’t figure it out, but you knew Ryland had some type of plan brewing in his mind that would help you communicate with Rocky.
Your eyes follow him as he walks, more carefully this time, now that he knows the trek to and from the ship.
When you look back at Rocky, you find his carapace now facing you again, continuing to chirp and hum at you.
And just like when you taught the littles, and a second grader spoke too quickly or softly for you to be able to understand, you give a gentle smile and nod along anyway.
Taglist Reblog
@moon-trash1507 @bigolidioot @shittyprofilebutfuckit @casey1-2007
Another Believer (18)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.6K
Warnings: Ryland spirals a little
A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long, everyone! >.< I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thank you to everyone who's been commenting! I love getting to read each and every one of them, and they definitely keep me motivated to keep going!
Masterlist
Ryland’s fingers work quickly with the duct tape in his hands, cutting out thin pieces and rounding the edges of the pieces that need to cover the clock numbers so Rocky would be able to see them with his echolocation.
He couldn’t believe he didn’t think of it before; the fact that Rocky had no eyes should have been a dead giveaway about the fact that the alien didn’t see as you or he did.
A slight cramp slowly begins to form in his hand from how methodical he is being with the small scissors, and he shakes it out as he uses his other hand to tape a piece of thin tape over the ‘1’ on the ‘12’. He needed to make sure that these were perfect for Rocky, knowing that he couldn’t continue making a fool of himself in front of the first alien that any of humanity had contact with.
Opening the drawer beside him to toss the tape roll into it, the things inside tumble around from how quickly he had opened it.
He almost didn’t see it, so focused on tossing the tape roll inside and heading back to the tunnel, but something peeked out at him towards the back of the drawer. The corner of it is bent towards him (something that must have happened during the chaos of zero gravity), like it was taped away, meant to be hidden.
Ryland’s brows furrow in confusion.
What is that?
His brain, now focused on something else, needs to find the answer to the question. Reaching inside, he pushes a few screwdrivers aside, fingers gripping onto the corner and giving a careful pull. He can hear the tap unsticking
Maybe it was something important.
Left for them by whoever sent them into space
It was small, whatever it was, fitting in his hand. Taped to the back of the drawer and hidden with the things inside. He must have missed it in the mayhem that was him dumping out all of the drawers right after he had woken up from the coma and trying to figure out the gravity situation.
Once his arm is out of the drawer, he observes the small rectangular object first. It was white and had a filmish texture with something on it: a date written with a Sharpie and a couple of hearts drawn underneath it. The date resonated deep within him, something special that he should remember. Stupid memory loss.
This definitely was not meant to help them with their space expedition.
Turning it over in his hands, his breath hitches at the sight that meets him.
Of course. It was a Polaroid.
A Polaroid of him and you on the deck of the hangar.
His right arm was wrapped around your waist, holding you close against his side, while your left arm was wrapped around his waist. Both of your smiles were bright as you looked at whoever was taking the picture, and your unoccupied hands connected in front to make the shape of a heart.
Ryland’s hand holding the picture begins to tremble slightly, his eyes roving over the picture as if to take in the details for the first time. Written in the same Sharpie on the little space below the photo was ‘2 Year Anniversary!’ and the same hearts from before were on either side of it.
The memory begins to play.
Salty ocean air, your voice talking to someone, begging them to take the picture-
He hurriedly places the photo back into the drawer before shoving it closed. His breath came quick, gripping onto the edge of the lab desk he had been working on as he squeezed his eyes shut, willing the memory away.
Ryland loved you. Positively, absolutely loved you.
But the Ryland in the picture and the Ryland now gripping onto the edge of the desk were two different people in his mind.
With each memory that flooded his senses, reminding him of who he used to be, the more and more he came to that realization.
Why was he sent here?
Why were you sent here?
He purses his lips between his teeth, using the pressure as a grounding point while counting each breath he takes in and out. Something he remembered you teaching him to help the students who experienced the same troubles.
God, every thought in his brain was surrounded by you.
You were etched in every crevice, every neuron connection that fired somehow contained you.
He hated it.
He hated how ever since you woke up, his body craved being near you, like it was the one thing that kept him sane while the two of you drifted in space. He hated how your bodies knew each other more than your brains did. He hated you-
No…
He could never hate you.
He hated the coma.
Whoever sent the two of you to space.
The Astrophage and how it was killing Earth.
He hated his mind.
What was once his greatest strength had become his Achilles heel.
Ryland squeezes his eyes closed even tighter, if that was even possible.
Flashes of you appear, on the Hail Mary and off. Different moments of you that stuck out to him, whether they were simple, mundane things or not. Images of you that settled deep in his very soul, as if this was his mind trying to appease him for its shortcomings.
He suddenly opens his eyes, blinking as he adjusts to the light, and grips the clock that he had been working on. The plastic squeaks under his grip, continuing to count his breaths as he stares at the blue duct tape covering the numbers. You and Rocky were waiting on him.
Now wasn’t the time for him to lose control.
That could be saved for later in the night once he’s heard your breathing settle into the familiar rhythm of sleep.
The drawer sits closed in front of him, an ominous feeling settling in the pit of his stomach as he stares at it one last time before turning around and heading back towards the airlock hatch.
The picture remains ever-present as he shoves open the hatch.
—
You had moved to sit beside the clear wall while waiting for Ryland to finish with whatever he had decided to do, Rocky moving to be on a ledge on his side of the wall that was closest to you. The way he sat on the ledge reminded you of a cat resting on a windowsill while it basked in the sun.
Loafing.
It was cute, in an alien sort of way.
The two of you sit in comfortable silence, observing each other now that you are in close proximity. Rocky occasionally hums a song to break the silence between you, his way of communicating, and you hum the same tune back.
That seems to please him, as his claws tap together a little every time you do it.
The lights move slightly around you, a shadow passing over, and Rocky shifts to stand on the ledge as a trill leaves him.
Ryland must be back.
Remaining seated, you turn to face the other side of the tunnel, Ryland walking towards you while holding up the clock. It takes you a second before he’s close enough for you to see what he has done.
He put tape over the numbers?
“Echolocation, right? You need surfaces to see. Try this.”
He speaks to Rocky as he holds up the clock once he’s within a distance of the wall. The silence begins again as you use the wall behind you to move to stand, a small groan escaping you from being seated on the uncomfortable tunnel wall for quite some time.
“That would make sense for the measuring tape mishap, too.”
Ryland glances at you out of the corner of his eye as you speak and move a few steps forward to stand beside him. Your attention is so focused on Rocky’s slight movements and his gentle clicking that you don’t notice the slight tightening of Ryland’s fingers around the clock.
No, not now. He wasn’t going to continue to let it affect him.
He clears his throat, more so to try to keep his voice from cracking when he speaks next.
“Yeah.” He responds simply to you before speaking back to Rocky, “You see the numbers?”
Ryland taps the surface of the clock again, trying his hardest to act like before he found the picture. It’s hard, but he wills his fingers to at least not shake as a starting point. You didn’t seem to realize it, at least.
He silently thanked Rocky for being so interesting.
Rocky suddenly chirps excitedly, bouncing slightly and twirling in place while two claws come up.
“What’s that?” Ryland inquires, glad he could focus on something he could figure out, his own hands slightly copying the alien across from him, “Is that good?”
“I think you figured it out.” You chuckle while watching Rocky.
“Jazz hands mean good?”
Rocky continues his little claw movements, even tapping them together as Ryland puts up two thumbs-up.
“We do this. Your version of this-”
Ryland does the jazz hands again, this time adding a bit more movement to his shoulder than Rocky did. You can’t contain the small laugh that escapes you as your gaze moves over to Ryland, watching his movements with a widening smile.
“What are you doing?” Your soft-spoken words are mixed with a slight laughter, clearly enjoying the sight before you.
“I’m teaching him Earth customs… That’s our thumbs-up.” He finishes his little dance by giving a thumbs-up again to Rocky, glancing over at you as he can’t help the slight quirk of his lips into a smile at your enjoyment of his antics.
God, you made it so easy to be normal. And yet, so easy to fall apart.
Rocky responds with a musical note while his claws try to copy Ryland. But instead of a thumb-up, his claws are pointed in a thumbs-down.
Your laughter only seems to grow at the miscommunication between Ryland and Rocky.
“No, that’s thumbs-down.”
Man, this was a little harder than Ryland thought. He felt like he was back in the classroom explaining the different cell structures in the human body to a bunch of sixth graders who couldn’t grasp it again.
“We do the thumbs uuuup.”
He drags out the last word while turning his thumbs-down into a thumbs-up, hoping Rocky would follow along with the movement. But the alien only doubled down by doing the move again with another happy musical note.
“That’s close enough.” Ryland sighs out, having a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to change Rocky’s mind about it now that it was cemented into the alien’s brain.
Did it have a brain?
A question for another time.
Your smile is bright as Rocky’s carapace turns towards you, and you give him a thumbs-up in response.
“Good job, Rocky.”
Said alien trills at your words before one claw goes down and the other holds up in a ‘wait’ motion, like Ryland had done earlier, his carapace shifting between you and Ryland.
“You want us to wait?” Ryland gestures to himself and you.
Rocky barely turns before looking back at the two of you and putting up a claw again, almost as if he were making sure that you knew he wanted you to wait.
He was a very tenacious alien.
“We wait?”
“We’ll wait for you, Rocky.” You affirm to Rocky as it ventures further into its dark tunnel, with small grunts escaping him as he goes.
“I’m really, uh…” Ryland calls out after Rocky, clearly unsure of how to fill the air as Rocky goes to gather something, “Really excited to be working with you on this. Fired up.”
Your eyes go from observing the tunnel towards Ryland as he rocks back and forth on his heels, holding the clock behind him. You give a small snort at his obviously awkward behavior, his eyes playfully glaring at you over the rim of his glasses on instinct before looking back at the tunnel, finding Rocky prancing back towards the wall with something held in one of his claws.
Rocky sets the thing onto one of the ledges, the shape of it something hard to describe. It seemed to be built of the same material as the other objects he sent you, slightly long with indents all around the side.
“What have we got here?” Ryland mumbles while leaning closer towards the wall, sitting on one of the ledges closest to it to get a better look.
You tilt your head slightly where you stand, as if hoping the new angle would help you with understanding what Rocky could have brought you… It didn’t.
“He seemed excited to grab it… So, it must be important.”
Both of your brows furrow in intrigued concentration before the object suddenly springs open and the two of you flinch in surprise, Ryland’s hand instinctively reaching out to brush against your own to make sure you’re okay.
Just like he had done when you two first met Rocky, a movement of his body he couldn’t control, an impulse to protect you.
You don’t mention the reach- either too focused on the object or just not wanting to voice it, instead calming it by brushing your knuckles against his.
Silent, assuring.
You both stare as it clicks, the top part moving in a rhythm with the middle part only moving occasionally. Rocky coos slightly in anticipation as he watches the two of you take in the object.
“It’s a clock.”
Ryland finally breathes out after a few silent seconds filled with only the ticking from the object, “I showed you a clock and… you’re showing me a clock.”
The end of his sentence merges with a soft, amazed huff of laughter.
“We’re, uh, clock bros.”
And…
The wonderstruck moment is broken.
Your own huff of laughter escapes you as you shake your head at Ryland’s words.
Rocky, clearly excited by the new development, suddenly bursts into a multitude of different trills and chirps and notes. His claws are moving this way and that as he explains things in a way neither you nor Ryland could follow along.
“Right, um.” The musical sounds continue through Ryland’s confused words.
“Rocky, wait-” Rocky turns to you when you speak, hums of songs you couldn’t understand directed at you as his claws tap and sway.
“I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure I’m getting all of this.”
Your shoulders droop as you glance between Ryland and Rocky, an exasperated look on both of your faces as Rocky just continues his melodious rambling while his carapace turns between the two of you.
“We need to find a better way to communicate.”
Ryland sighs and nods in agreement at your words.
“Give me a minute. I think I might have an idea.” He mumbles before standing from the ledge he had been sitting on with a small grunt of effort and beginning to make his way back towards the ship.
To grab what?
You couldn’t figure it out, but you knew Ryland had some type of plan brewing in his mind that would help you communicate with Rocky.
Your eyes follow him as he walks, more carefully this time, now that he knows the trek to and from the ship.
When you look back at Rocky, you find his carapace now facing you again, continuing to chirp and hum at you.
And just like when you taught the littles, and a second grader spoke too quickly or softly for you to be able to understand, you give a gentle smile and nod along anyway.
Gurl, I really wanna read what you are posting, BUT I AM SO BUSSSYYY 😭😭😭😭
Hi Fries!
It’s alright, you’re always one of my biggest supporters! 🫶🏻 I hope you’re getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of water!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻
Another Believer Masterlist
Ryland Grace x Reader
Current Word Count: 45,211 Words
Chapters: 19/?
Last Updated: July 08, 2026
Synopsis:
“I’m not an astronaut. I put the naut in astronaut. I’ve never done anything- I’ve never done a space walk- I can’t even moonwalk!”
“If you don’t go, you die… with the rest of us.”
“… I can’t leave her.”
~~
And give me just one more chance, one more glance And I will make of you, yeah, I'm gonna make of you another believer
Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Another Believer (17)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.9K
Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluff at one point
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, everyone! The TikTok I had been using for scenes got deleted, so I had to do some digging. I hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much for your support! <3 <3
Previous Chapter .~.~. Next Chapter
The suit was just as much of a struggle to get off as it was to get on for you when you and Ryland made it back into the Hail Mary.
At least you didn’t have to worry about putting on the helmet anymore, now that the alien had effectively created Oxygen in the tunnel.
While you stumble out of the suit, barely able to catch yourself on the wall before faceplanting into it, Ryland only gets better and better at removing himself from it. The look in his eyes when he glanced over to make sure that you were okay showed that his mind was working overtime, the cogs turning as if there was something that was confusing him.
He pulls his arms out of the undersuit once he’s free of the EVA suit, but doesn’t entirely get out of it, leaving the top half resting limply around his waist. Ryland doesn’t say anything to you as he begins to make his way back to the lab, but for some reason, a part of you knew he wouldn’t when his mind was stuck.
Like a deep crevice of your brain knew that this was just Ryland becoming hyperfixated on something.
Standing alone in the airlock hatch, you glance over towards the small window, staring at the tunnel that had led you to meeting an alien… You and Ryland had met an alien.
Your mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that you had somewhat conversed with a rock-like alien, who had built a tunnel specifically with oxygen just so you and Ryland could breathe.
Releasing a huff of breath, you reach up and rub hard at your closed eyes with the heel of your palms, watching the little sparks of color that flash behind your eyelids from the pressure.
An alien.
First contact with alien life.
Removing your hands from your eyes, you blink a few times as your vision goes from completely black to slightly blurry to fully normal once again.
While Ryland was sitting in the lab, you had decided now would be a perfect time to head to the sleeping quarters and take a ‘shower’. Well, as much of a shower as you could take in the middle of space, anyway.
You grab a drink bag, the specialized liquid soap, a towel, and a clean uniform. You were thankful for the time that you had taken to read the manuals a few days ago, so you knew where everything was.
There was a slim mirror placed on the back of a compartment, just enough to see your face. You stare into your own eyes, taking in your features.
Even from when you had first woken up, something had begun shifting in you as you began to remember more and more of your life before the coma: The life of a teacher, your life with Ryland. You knew his memories involved you, too, since he no longer avoided you like you had the plague.
But there was still something holding him back.
A small sigh escapes you as you open the tube of specialized soap, the scent of it instantly filling your nose. It smelled like… baby shampoo?
—
You nuzzle your nose into the soft head of curls of the newborn girl in your arms, Ella, as she was so promptly named. Phillip, almost a year old, was situated on the hybrid carrier against your back, his fist gripping tightly onto your shirt as he looked around curiously.
Even through the salty ocean air, you could smell the baby shampoo that had saturated into Ella’s hair.
Today was a day when Trinity followed alongside you as you walked around the parts of the ship that you were allowed to, keeping you on the designated path as you all got some fresh air on the hangar.
Ella had fallen asleep in your arms, still young enough to need constant naps around the hour, whereas Phillip’s gaze was snapping this way and that at any noise that happened around him.
You stand a few feet from the railing, not wanting to be too close to the edge out of caution, your eyes staring at the waves as they peak into that salty white foam. Trinity stands beside you, her gaze instead looking around the ship, nodding at any officers or fellow military personnel that pass by.
Cradling Ella, you adjust your grip on her just carefully enough that you don’t wake her, Phillip’s grip moving from your shirt to begin sucking on his thumb, leaning his head against the back of your shoulder. It seems he was getting ready for a nap as well.
As much as you didn’t want to return to the room, the one you had grown so used to seeing day in and out, you also knew better than to keep the two from napping comfortably. So with one last longing look out at the waves, you slowly shift your body to face Trinity, giving her a silent nod to let her know that you were ready to go.
Trinity started talking more and more as the days went on, leading you to learn more about her, and her about you.
She had left home to join the military in her early twenties, slowly building up her repertoire with her officers, which had led to her being stationed on this hangar. She was apprehensive of her assignment with you, having expected to be stationed outside a scientist’s quarters.
“You’re cool though.” She had explained one day, the smallest smiles quirking up the corner of her lips.
It was a start to a budding friendship.
Placing your hand on the back of Ella’s head, her nose nuzzling into the warmth of her shirt, with a sweet sigh escaping past her little lips, you can’t help the small smile that tugs at your lips as you begin walking beside Trinity back towards the designated room.
“Starshine!”
A sudden voice calls out from behind you, a familiar voice. Turning to look over your shoulder, you find Ryland waving with a bright smile on his lips, increasing the speed of his steps so he could make his way towards you and Trinity, whose steps had stopped at the sight of the newcomer.
A look flashes across his face when he sees the sleeping faces of the two babies resting against you, a soft ‘sorry’ quickly leaving his lips.
Making sure Ella and Phillip were still asleep, you gave Ryland a reassuring smile.
“You’re good. They’re heavy sleepers.”
Ryland nods, his gaze flicking over the two babies before his eyes meet back with yours behind his glasses, which were resting correctly against the bridge of his nose. A sight that was almost unfamiliar to you. Something softens in his gaze as he stares at you, something warm settling deep in his chest.
He had grown so used to seeing you interact with the sixth-graders you used to teach that there were times he almost forgot you used to be an elementary teacher as well. But seeing you with two babies, who were resting so peacefully against you, clearly finding a sense of security in your presence.
Ryland didn’t know how to explain it. He didn't know how to put what he was feeling into words other than warm.
Reaching up, Ryland gently places his hand against the back of your head, gently drawing you in to place a gentle kiss on your forehead, his lips resting for just a few seconds against your hairline, his thumb rubbing gentle circles in your hair.
He almost didn’t want to pull away, but the third presence and the ever-daunting task of figuring out astrophage forces him to slowly move away. The look in your eyes when he does, a shining look that only brightens when your gaze meets, only makes him melt even more.
“Just wanted to say ‘hi’, Starshine.” He hums out.
“Well, hello.” You hum right back.
A smile forms on his lips before he plants one last, quick kiss against your temple, his hand slowly returning to his side. He glances over at Trinity, giving her a small nod in greeting, the blonde woman giving him a nod in return.
When his eyes move back to you, finding you still staring up at him with that same smile still on your lips, his shoulders relax even more.
“I’ll see you later tonight, Starshine.”
“Don’t work too hard, My Grace.”
Ryland gives a nod, wanting nothing more than to follow you, but knowing that he needs to return to his little lab on the ship. His eyes follow as you turn and begin to walk with Trinity once again, standing there until you disappear behind a corner.
—
“It’s the Petrova Line!”
Ryland’s voice interrupts your thoughts, finding that you had done the motions of the ‘shower’ even as you were remembering your time on the hangar. Your hands stilled in their motion of rubbing the soap off with a damp towel, quickly moving to pull on the clean uniform once you're done, before making your way to the lab.
“What’s the Petrova Line?”
You ask as you turn the corner, finding Ryland sitting while holding one of the objects that the alien had sent over in the containers, the one with a ball and a line coming from it. Ryland stands at your entrance, showing you the object as a smile makes its way onto his lips.
“That’s why it’s here. They have a Petrova Line just like we do.”
Taking the object as he hands it over to you, turning it over in your hands to observe it, you barely hear as he begins to rummage around, grabbing things that he thinks he needs. You look over the grooves and indents, your gaze only flicks up when Ryland calls out to you on his way towards the sleeping quarters.
“Grab the clock!”
The clock?
Why would you need the clock?
Looking around while keeping the object in your right hand, you find that Ryland had begun making a bag of essentials to take to the alien. Okay, it was time to head back to the alien. You move to the table where the clock was sitting, grabbing it right when Ryland returns, wearing a new uniform.
You barely set the clock in the bag before Ryland grabs it and throws it over his shoulder, his eyes quickly finding yours before he nods his head towards a light attached to a tripod for you to grab with your left hand.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Moving back through the airlock hatch, you begin to make your way through the tunnel once again, this time, without wearing spacesuits. It felt weird, not needing the thing that you had expected to keep you alive through an alien tunnel, but you had a feeling you would quickly grow used to it.
“We’re here for the same reason.”
Ryland calls out to the alien once the two of you move closer to the wall, where the alien was already waiting for you, soft clicks escaping it as it hangs against the wall.
“You have a Pretova Line problem, too. You need to solve it, we need to solve it. That’s why you made us this.”
Ryland gently takes the object from your hands, holding it up towards the alien, who chirps out at the sight of the object and turns around a little bit. It points towards some engravings on one of his arms, a few lines and a circle.
It sings a tune as it points, almost as if it were trying to show Ryland and you something to help with your understanding.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes.”
Ryland sets down the bag, leading you to carefully set up the tripod and light right behind it, helping the two of you to see the alien as it observes you.
“If we’re gonna save our planets, we have to learn how to communicate.” Ryland squats beside the bag, digging through it for just a short second, “You know, they say that math is the universal language. I thought, maybe we-”
He suddenly produces a tape measure, pulling some of the tape out and holding it in front of the alien, who chirps softly at the sight of it.
“Find out if that’s true.”
The alien sings a song as Ryland asks if it can see the numbers, its claws tapping together almost curiously, before a small compartment opens right by Ryland’s leg.
“I think it wants to see it.” You chuckle out, finding the alien almost hilariously intriguing as Ryland goes to place the tape measure into the compartment.
But he quickly yanks his hand away from the compartment, swinging his hand out with a small shout.
“Whoa, Christmas Eve. It’s really hot in there! Is that Ammonia?”
Your nose turns up as a smell quickly invades your nose, the same smell from before when you had gotten the first object. But it was gone as quickly as it came.
Attention quickly turning back to the alien, you watch as it begins to pull on the tape measure, a curious chirp escaping from it. A smile forms on your lips, deciding to remain quiet as Ryland continues rambling on as the alien explores the new object.
“Anyway, that’s… look, see the numbers?” He points towards the tape measure, “Here. Look, there on the other side.”
The alien continues to pull out the tape and let it go back in, your brain instantly remembering the times when you used to work with second-graders. Their curious nature towards what they didn’t understand evolved into playing with anything new.
“Do it again.” Ryland continues, not seeing what you were, “If you do it again, and you don’t let it snap back. So… don’t… don’t do it. Hold it like that.”
The alien holds out the tape measure, and you can see the next movement from a mile away. It lets its claws go from the tape, and you hear Ryland sigh exasperatedly. The sound finally causes laughter to push past your lips, the alien once again copying your sound as it continues to mess with the tape measure.
Your laughter only grows as it pulls out more and more tape, twirling it around one of its arms, Ryland mumbling a shocked “Wow.”
“I don’t think it understands.” You chuckle out, smiling behind one of your hands as Ryland tries quickly to find another way to communicate with the alien, something that it might understand.
“How about something else?” He reaches into the bag, grabs the clock you had put in there, holding it up, and tapping on it, “Look at this!”
The scene reminded you heavily of the times you would peek into Ryland’s room while he was teaching, finding him trying his hardest to gain the attention of the sleepy sixth-graders who couldn't care less about whatever he was spouting about.
The alien chirps, turning towards Ryland for a few short moments, the tape beginning to snap back.
“We both have time, right?”
The alien watches as Ryland begins pointing to the different parts of the clock, explaining it to try and hopefully convey something to the alien.
But it amounts to nothing as the alien instead turns back to the tape measure still around its arm, beginning to play with it once again. Even throughout it, Ryland still tries to explain the clock, but nothing gathers the alien’s attention more than the tape measure it was still messing with.
“Okay.” He mumbles dejectedly before grabbing the light and pointing it down the tunnel past the alien, your attention still happily watching it.
“It’s dark down there.”
Your smile brightens as the alien begins turning around with the tape measure, effectively wrapping itself up in it until it reaches the red section. It chirps when it can’t go any further.
“I got an idea.”
Your eyes move back to Ryland as he holds up a finger towards the alien, telling it to ‘wait’. The alien rumbles in response, holding up one of its claws in mimicry.
“Don’t, yeah-” Ryland chuckles as he notices it, “Don’t go anywhere. Stay.”
You chuckle as the tape measure finally snaps back into place, the alien moving to look at it as it thumps to the ground before it looks back up at Ryland.
“Oh yeah, um, I’m Grace.” He points to himself, before gesturing over to you and saying your name. You both watch as the alien puts two arms together and begins to sing a song, probably how you say its name in its language.
“I’m gonna call you Rocky. You know, cause you look like a giant rock.” He shrugs, keeping a grip on the clock as he begins walking towards the airlock hatch.
“Very original.” You hum out, barely catching the playful glare sent your way over Ryland’s shoulder, effectively causing him to trip over the raised edges of the tunnel. Laughter escapes you as Ryland quickly rights himself.
“I’m fine.” He portrays to both you and Rocky, before gesturing to you, “Stay with him, Starshine. Keep him company, or… something.”
You watch as he walks through the tunnel, your smile remaining, before your gaze moves back towards Rocky, watching as his carapace moves to look over at you.
“You can’t see the numbers, can you?” You hum out to the alien.
A simple light chirp is all you need in response as your smile brightens even more.
Taglist Reblog
@moon-trash1507 @bigolidioot @shittyprofilebutfuckit
Another Believer (17)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.9K
Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluff at one point
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, everyone! The TikTok I had been using for scenes got deleted, so I had to do some digging. I hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much for your support! <3 <3
Masterlist
The suit was just as much of a struggle to get off as it was to get on for you when you and Ryland made it back into the Hail Mary.
At least you didn’t have to worry about putting on the helmet anymore, now that the alien had effectively created Oxygen in the tunnel.
While you stumble out of the suit, barely able to catch yourself on the wall before faceplanting into it, Ryland only gets better and better at removing himself from it. The look in his eyes when he glanced over to make sure that you were okay showed that his mind was working overtime, the cogs turning as if there was something that was confusing him.
He pulls his arms out of the undersuit once he’s free of the EVA suit, but doesn’t entirely get out of it, leaving the top half resting limply around his waist. Ryland doesn’t say anything to you as he begins to make his way back to the lab, but for some reason, a part of you knew he wouldn’t when his mind was stuck.
Like a deep crevice of your brain knew that this was just Ryland becoming hyperfixated on something.
Standing alone in the airlock hatch, you glance over towards the small window, staring at the tunnel that had led you to meeting an alien… You and Ryland had met an alien.
Your mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that you had somewhat conversed with a rock-like alien, who had built a tunnel specifically with oxygen just so you and Ryland could breathe.
Releasing a huff of breath, you reach up and rub hard at your closed eyes with the heel of your palms, watching the little sparks of color that flash behind your eyelids from the pressure.
An alien.
First contact with alien life.
Removing your hands from your eyes, you blink a few times as your vision goes from completely black to slightly blurry to fully normal once again.
While Ryland was sitting in the lab, you had decided now would be a perfect time to head to the sleeping quarters and take a ‘shower’. Well, as much of a shower as you could take in the middle of space, anyway.
You grab a drink bag, the specialized liquid soap, a towel, and a clean uniform. You were thankful for the time that you had taken to read the manuals a few days ago, so you knew where everything was.
There was a slim mirror placed on the back of a compartment, just enough to see your face. You stare into your own eyes, taking in your features.
Even from when you had first woken up, something had begun shifting in you as you began to remember more and more of your life before the coma: The life of a teacher, your life with Ryland. You knew his memories involved you, too, since he no longer avoided you like you had the plague.
But there was still something holding him back.
A small sigh escapes you as you open the tube of specialized soap, the scent of it instantly filling your nose. It smelled like… baby shampoo?
—
You nuzzle your nose into the soft head of curls of the newborn girl in your arms, Ella, as she was so promptly named. Phillip, almost a year old, was situated on the hybrid carrier against your back, his fist gripping tightly onto your shirt as he looked around curiously.
Even through the salty ocean air, you could smell the baby shampoo that had saturated into Ella’s hair.
Today was a day when Trinity followed alongside you as you walked around the parts of the ship that you were allowed to, keeping you on the designated path as you all got some fresh air on the hangar.
Ella had fallen asleep in your arms, still young enough to need constant naps around the hour, whereas Phillip’s gaze was snapping this way and that at any noise that happened around him.
You stand a few feet from the railing, not wanting to be too close to the edge out of caution, your eyes staring at the waves as they peak into that salty white foam. Trinity stands beside you, her gaze instead looking around the ship, nodding at any officers or fellow military personnel that pass by.
Cradling Ella, you adjust your grip on her just carefully enough that you don’t wake her, Phillip’s grip moving from your shirt to begin sucking on his thumb, leaning his head against the back of your shoulder. It seems he was getting ready for a nap as well.
As much as you didn’t want to return to the room, the one you had grown so used to seeing day in and out, you also knew better than to keep the two from napping comfortably. So with one last longing look out at the waves, you slowly shift your body to face Trinity, giving her a silent nod to let her know that you were ready to go.
Trinity started talking more and more as the days went on, leading you to learn more about her, and her about you.
She had left home to join the military in her early twenties, slowly building up her repertoire with her officers, which had led to her being stationed on this hangar. She was apprehensive of her assignment with you, having expected to be stationed outside a scientist’s quarters.
“You’re cool though.” She had explained one day, the smallest smiles quirking up the corner of her lips.
It was a start to a budding friendship.
Placing your hand on the back of Ella’s head, her nose nuzzling into the warmth of her shirt, with a sweet sigh escaping past her little lips, you can’t help the small smile that tugs at your lips as you begin walking beside Trinity back towards the designated room.
“Starshine!”
A sudden voice calls out from behind you, a familiar voice. Turning to look over your shoulder, you find Ryland waving with a bright smile on his lips, increasing the speed of his steps so he could make his way towards you and Trinity, whose steps had stopped at the sight of the newcomer.
A look flashes across his face when he sees the sleeping faces of the two babies resting against you, a soft ‘sorry’ quickly leaving his lips.
Making sure Ella and Phillip were still asleep, you gave Ryland a reassuring smile.
“You’re good. They’re heavy sleepers.”
Ryland nods, his gaze flicking over the two babies before his eyes meet back with yours behind his glasses, which were resting correctly against the bridge of his nose. A sight that was almost unfamiliar to you. Something softens in his gaze as he stares at you, something warm settling deep in his chest.
He had grown so used to seeing you interact with the sixth-graders you used to teach that there were times he almost forgot you used to be an elementary teacher as well. But seeing you with two babies, who were resting so peacefully against you, clearly finding a sense of security in your presence.
Ryland didn’t know how to explain it. He didn't know how to put what he was feeling into words other than warm.
Reaching up, Ryland gently places his hand against the back of your head, gently drawing you in to place a gentle kiss on your forehead, his lips resting for just a few seconds against your hairline, his thumb rubbing gentle circles in your hair.
He almost didn’t want to pull away, but the third presence and the ever-daunting task of figuring out astrophage forces him to slowly move away. The look in your eyes when he does, a shining look that only brightens when your gaze meets, only makes him melt even more.
“Just wanted to say ‘hi’, Starshine.” He hums out.
“Well, hello.” You hum right back.
A smile forms on his lips before he plants one last, quick kiss against your temple, his hand slowly returning to his side. He glances over at Trinity, giving her a small nod in greeting, the blonde woman giving him a nod in return.
When his eyes move back to you, finding you still staring up at him with that same smile still on your lips, his shoulders relax even more.
“I’ll see you later tonight, Starshine.”
“Don’t work too hard, My Grace.”
Ryland gives a nod, wanting nothing more than to follow you, but knowing that he needs to return to his little lab on the ship. His eyes follow as you turn and begin to walk with Trinity once again, standing there until you disappear behind a corner.
—
“It’s the Petrova Line!”
Ryland’s voice interrupts your thoughts, finding that you had done the motions of the ‘shower’ even as you were remembering your time on the hangar. Your hands stilled in their motion of rubbing the soap off with a damp towel, quickly moving to pull on the clean uniform once you're done, before making your way to the lab.
“What’s the Petrova Line?”
You ask as you turn the corner, finding Ryland sitting while holding one of the objects that the alien had sent over in the containers, the one with a ball and a line coming from it. Ryland stands at your entrance, showing you the object as a smile makes its way onto his lips.
“That’s why it’s here. They have a Petrova Line just like we do.”
Taking the object as he hands it over to you, turning it over in your hands to observe it, you barely hear as he begins to rummage around, grabbing things that he thinks he needs. You look over the grooves and indents, your gaze only flicks up when Ryland calls out to you on his way towards the sleeping quarters.
“Grab the clock!”
The clock?
Why would you need the clock?
Looking around while keeping the object in your right hand, you find that Ryland had begun making a bag of essentials to take to the alien. Okay, it was time to head back to the alien. You move to the table where the clock was sitting, grabbing it right when Ryland returns, wearing a new uniform.
You barely set the clock in the bag before Ryland grabs it and throws it over his shoulder, his eyes quickly finding yours before he nods his head towards a light attached to a tripod for you to grab with your left hand.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Moving back through the airlock hatch, you begin to make your way through the tunnel once again, this time, without wearing spacesuits. It felt weird, not needing the thing that you had expected to keep you alive through an alien tunnel, but you had a feeling you would quickly grow used to it.
“We’re here for the same reason.”
Ryland calls out to the alien once the two of you move closer to the wall, where the alien was already waiting for you, soft clicks escaping it as it hangs against the wall.
“You have a Pretova Line problem, too. You need to solve it, we need to solve it. That’s why you made us this.”
Ryland gently takes the object from your hands, holding it up towards the alien, who chirps out at the sight of the object and turns around a little bit. It points towards some engravings on one of his arms, a few lines and a circle.
It sings a tune as it points, almost as if it were trying to show Ryland and you something to help with your understanding.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes.”
Ryland sets down the bag, leading you to carefully set up the tripod and light right behind it, helping the two of you to see the alien as it observes you.
“If we’re gonna save our planets, we have to learn how to communicate.” Ryland squats beside the bag, digging through it for just a short second, “You know, they say that math is the universal language. I thought, maybe we-”
He suddenly produces a tape measure, pulling some of the tape out and holding it in front of the alien, who chirps softly at the sight of it.
“Find out if that’s true.”
The alien sings a song as Ryland asks if it can see the numbers, its claws tapping together almost curiously, before a small compartment opens right by Ryland’s leg.
“I think it wants to see it.” You chuckle out, finding the alien almost hilariously intriguing as Ryland goes to place the tape measure into the compartment.
But he quickly yanks his hand away from the compartment, swinging his hand out with a small shout.
“Whoa, Christmas Eve. It’s really hot in there! Is that Ammonia?”
Your nose turns up as a smell quickly invades your nose, the same smell from before when you had gotten the first object. But it was gone as quickly as it came.
Attention quickly turning back to the alien, you watch as it begins to pull on the tape measure, a curious chirp escaping from it. A smile forms on your lips, deciding to remain quiet as Ryland continues rambling on as the alien explores the new object.
“Anyway, that’s… look, see the numbers?” He points towards the tape measure, “Here. Look, there on the other side.”
The alien continues to pull out the tape and let it go back in, your brain instantly remembering the times when you used to work with second-graders. Their curious nature towards what they didn’t understand evolved into playing with anything new.
“Do it again.” Ryland continues, not seeing what you were, “If you do it again, and you don’t let it snap back. So… don’t… don’t do it. Hold it like that.”
The alien holds out the tape measure, and you can see the next movement from a mile away. It lets its claws go from the tape, and you hear Ryland sigh exasperatedly. The sound finally causes laughter to push past your lips, the alien once again copying your sound as it continues to mess with the tape measure.
Your laughter only grows as it pulls out more and more tape, twirling it around one of its arms, Ryland mumbling a shocked “Wow.”
“I don’t think it understands.” You chuckle out, smiling behind one of your hands as Ryland tries quickly to find another way to communicate with the alien, something that it might understand.
“How about something else?” He reaches into the bag, grabs the clock you had put in there, holding it up, and tapping on it, “Look at this!”
The scene reminded you heavily of the times you would peek into Ryland’s room while he was teaching, finding him trying his hardest to gain the attention of the sleepy sixth-graders who couldn't care less about whatever he was spouting about.
The alien chirps, turning towards Ryland for a few short moments, the tape beginning to snap back.
“We both have time, right?”
The alien watches as Ryland begins pointing to the different parts of the clock, explaining it to try and hopefully convey something to the alien.
But it amounts to nothing as the alien instead turns back to the tape measure still around its arm, beginning to play with it once again. Even throughout it, Ryland still tries to explain the clock, but nothing gathers the alien’s attention more than the tape measure it was still messing with.
“Okay.” He mumbles dejectedly before grabbing the light and pointing it down the tunnel past the alien, your attention still happily watching it.
“It’s dark down there.”
Your smile brightens as the alien begins turning around with the tape measure, effectively wrapping itself up in it until it reaches the red section. It chirps when it can’t go any further.
“I got an idea.”
Your eyes move back to Ryland as he holds up a finger towards the alien, telling it to ‘wait’. The alien rumbles in response, holding up one of its claws in mimicry.
“Don’t, yeah-” Ryland chuckles as he notices it, “Don’t go anywhere. Stay.”
You chuckle as the tape measure finally snaps back into place, the alien moving to look at it as it thumps to the ground before it looks back up at Ryland.
“Oh yeah, um, I’m Grace.” He points to himself, before gesturing over to you and saying your name. You both watch as the alien puts two arms together and begins to sing a song, probably how you say its name in its language.
“I’m gonna call you Rocky. You know, cause you look like a giant rock.” He shrugs, keeping a grip on the clock as he begins walking towards the airlock hatch.
“Very original.” You hum out, barely catching the playful glare sent your way over Ryland’s shoulder, effectively causing him to trip over the raised edges of the tunnel. Laughter escapes you as Ryland quickly rights himself.
“I’m fine.” He portrays to both you and Rocky, before gesturing to you, “Stay with him, Starshine. Keep him company, or… something.”
You watch as he walks through the tunnel, your smile remaining, before your gaze moves back towards Rocky, watching as his carapace moves to look over at you.
“You can’t see the numbers, can you?” You hum out to the alien.
A simple light chirp is all you need in response as your smile brightens even more.
Another Believer (16)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.2K
Warnings: Very self-indulgent in the beginning <3
A/N: This chapter felt so nice to write, especially the beginning. I also did end up making a side-blog ( @kenough-for-me ) if you'd like to send requests over there or if you'd just like to chat! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! <3
Previous Chapter .~.~. Next Chapter
The car doors slam shut behind you once you finally arrive at your destination.
The salty air instantly hits your lungs, the sharp cry of the seagulls hits your ears, the sun kisses your skin.
You pause where you stand, your eyes fluttering close as you take in a deep breath, taking in something that you hadn’t gotten to experience in such a long time.
“What are you doing, Starshine?”
You hear the familiar hum of Ryland behind you, feel the warmth of his hands against your hips as he moves to stand behind you.
“I’m having a moment.”
You answer in a soft tone, your eyes remaining closed. You couldn’t wait to feel the sand between your toes, the lapping of the waves against your ankles.
Ryland waits for you, watching you behind his glasses with a fullness in his heart, instantly noticing how your shoulders weren’t as tense as they had been the past few weeks.
Ryland remembers about a month ago.
He was lying beside you in bed, the darkness encompassing the room, your voice gentle as you spoke, not being able to sleep well that night.
You had spoken of the beach you visited when you were younger, how you missed living so close to one.
Just hearing the longing in your voice, Ryland had hatched a plan for spring break.
He could keep no secret from you, though, and he revealed his thoughts the next day in jumbled sentences during your lunch breaks.
Leading to where you both stood now.
Your eyes finally open, cringing at the bright sun reflecting on the water, catching the way the waves ripple as they hit the shore.
Taking a deep breath, your smile as bright as the sunshine, you grab one of Ryland’s hands from against your hip and begin to lead him towards the shore.
And he follows with a chuckle and a squeeze of your hand.
It didn’t take long for you two to set up the small canopy you had bought and the two chairs you had brought.
Your towel rests against your chair, Ryland’s mirroring right beside yours.
Both of your flip-flops sit right before your chairs.
The sand felt soft under your feet, warming your skin from where it had previously soaked in the heat of the sun.
Your hands work quickly to massage in sunscreen against your shoulders and face, making sure to rub your ears as a finality before you set your sun hat against your head and remove your bathing suit cover, setting it in your chair.
Ryland follows after your movements, taking the extra step to rub down his legs as well, before removing his shirt, leaving him in his swim shorts.
Ryland’s eyes take you in, the way you basically vibrated in your spot as you stare down the water right in front of you, and he can’t help the way his eyes roam over your form.
The way your bikini hugs you just right, showing off just the perfect amount of skin.
His thoughts are interrupted as you grip onto his hand, interlacing your fingers as you lead him towards the edge of the water.
Your steps are quick, hurried to feel the waves against your skin.
Ryland follows just as fast.
A squeal is forced out of you as you step into the lapping wave, a cold shiver rolling up your spine. Even after the sun is bright and shining, the ocean water still has a nip to it.
Ryland’s laughter soon follows behind your sound, his own grunt escaping him when he finally steps into the water as well.
“Good gracious, that’s cold!”
But you keep walking, your grip on his hand tight before you stop once your knees are submerged, the waves occasionally causing the cold water to kiss against your thighs.
Ryland stands beside you, staring out into the water, watching as the tide pulls the water back before a wave knocks gently against them.
You feel the way the sand moves under your feet, the way the sand shifts with every wave, occasionally shifting your feet when you would lose your footing.
The coast is far and wide, your eyes following every bird that flies overhead.
You take a deep breath where you stand, the salty air kissing your lungs in a way you hadn’t felt in so long.
“Thank you, My Grace.”
Your words are a gentle breath as you squeeze his hand, your eyes remaining on the tide around you, the foam of the sea.
“Anything for you, Starshine.”
He breaths back, his eyes moving to stare at you, to watch you in wonder as the stress from work seems to melt away at something as simple as feeling the cold water against your skin, at the sun kissing your shoulders.
And in that very moment, that very wondrous moment:
Both of you feel alive.
—
“Another present.”
Your eyes move over towards Ryland at the sound of his voice, finding him holding up the little box towards the alien before heading back towards where you were standing.
Once he gets close enough, you look curiously at the box in his hands, hearing the alien making more song note sounds in response.
The box had the same indentations as the others, but what stood out to you the most was the small design of what appeared to be the Hail Mary on one side.
It cracks open with a hiss just like the other objects did.
And what you found inside increased both your curiosity and your confusion.
It seemed to be a double loop of sorts, with crystal balls all around it at specific points.
The alien’s song continues as Ryland carefully takes the object out of the box, holding it up for both of you to see.
“We don’t have one of these.”
Ryland’s excitement, even if he didn’t understand what it was, was clear as day in his tone, his smile just as bright as before.
“I love it, thank you!”
Your hands reach out to gently trace over the object, feeling the crystal balls with your gloved hands before you look back at the alien, your own smile reflecting Ryland’s.
“It’s beautiful.”
You join in, the alien responding to both of your words with its song.
How you wish you could understand every note it sang.
You wondered what it was truly saying, but were interrupted as the alien began moving its appendages around, trying to get the two of you to understand something.
“Do I put this on my head?”
Ryland lifts the object towards his helmet, the balls gently tapping against the rough surface, but that only seems to frustrate the alien.
“Do I put it on her head?”
Ryland, trying to appease the alien and understand its movements, lifts the object towards your helmet, but the alien gives the same frustrated grumble of notes.
It wanted the two of you to do something.
The alien lifts two of its appendages, another myriad of notes coming from it as it tries to convey what it wanted you two to do.
“Take off my head?” Ryland questions, confusion seeping into his tone as the alien does the same motions.
“That’s not it.” You respond with a shake of your head, focusing on the movements. The alien moves its front from you to Ryland and back, as if wondering who would finally be able to figure it out.
It was like a game of charades at this point.
“Take my helmet off?”
Ryland finally guesses, earning him a happy set of chirps from the alien.
“No,” Ryland says while beginning to shake his head, “It’ll plllbt.” He puts his hand to his head, pretending to make an exploding motion.
“We’ll die without oxygen. Our suits provide the oxygen.”
You try explaining to the alien, showing it by taking a deep breath in and out.
The alien doesn’t take your answers, though, copying the motion again while turning to look at the two of you.
“That’s a big ask.”
Ryland begins, before the flickering of the nearby light informs you that your time there for the meantime is almost up.
“Oh. This has taken a turn.” Ryland looks back towards the other end of the tunnel before looking down at you and then returning his gaze to the alien.
While one hand holds up the object, the other hand places itself against your arm and begins to gently steer you back towards the ship, a leading motion that you’ve felt him do before in the recesses of your mind.
“Thank you for the… what I hope is not handcuffs.”
You chuckle in your helmet, shaking your head as you allow yourself to be led back towards the ship, looking over your shoulder and giving a small wave to the alien, who lifts one of its appendages in a copy of your movement.
“I’m sorry about the whole helmet thing. Unfortunately, we need oxygen to breathe, so...” Ryland continues with a slight chuckle after his sentence.
Before he freezes.
Feeling his hand slip from your arm, you turn to look over your shoulder, finding Ryland standing there staring at the object in his hands, his brows furrowed in thought.
“Ryland?” You question softly.
“Two rings of eight.” Is all he responds, his gaze never leaving the object as he speaks. “O₂.”
“You little rascal.”
His hand flops down, glancing over at you with a certain look, and turns back to face the wall, where the alien patiently waits behind, holding up the object that he had now realized to be the chemical structure of O₂.
“This is Oxygen!”
The alien, realizing that Ryland had finally understood what the object meant, begins to chirp excitedly, its claws tapping together before it repeats its earlier motion.
“It made a model of oxygen.” Your eyes stare up at the model, remaining in your sport, astonishment in your tone, “But… why?”
“It wants us to take off our helmets.” He responds to you in a softer tone before addressing the alien once more, “I still don’t think I can do it, though, sorry. It’s just, uh… You know… if I’m wrong, I’m really wrong.”
Ryland turns back to face you, his hand returning to your arm to lead you back towards the ship, stopping and reaching down to fix where the wires had spliced with duct tape.
The alien is illuminated once more, still positioned right behind the wall, as you could assume, staring at the two of you.
“Ryland… do you think it made oxygen?”
“We can’t chance it, Starshine. Death would be imminent.”
His voice was soft again as he stood once he finished fixing the wires, staring over towards the alien for a few seconds longer before turning and reaching his hand back out to lead you once again.
His voice didn’t sound convincing, not to himself, and definitely not to you.
You follow his lead without fight, though, but once again, he stops right as you two make it to the airlock latch, having it within arm's reach.
His hand slowly falls from your arm, causing your gaze to follow it to his eyes, finding him glancing around before looking at you.
You can hear his breath quickening through the comm link, before his hands slowly begin to reach for the part of his helmet that connected it to the rest of his space suit.
Your heart jolts as you quickly reach out to grab onto his wrists, your eyes widen as you stare up at him.
This was crazy!
“Ryland? What are you doing?” Your voice bled with worry, knowing that if he was wrong…
You didn’t want to think about the consequences.
He doesn’t respond, just stares at you with a look in his eyes that mirrors your own.
Your hands gently tighten their grip around his wrists, willing him to stop before something bad happens, but the look in his eyes…
The same look of fear of the unknown was front and center; past that was a look. A begging look that pleaded with you to trust him.
And you did.
Deep within, you always did.
Giving one final squeeze, you slowly release your hands from around his wrists, shakily moving them to your own spot where your helmet connects to your suit.
Staring into his eyes, you give him a slight nod.
This could kill you. Both of you.
But you trusted Ryland.
You both take deep breaths before unlocking the connection, your eyes stare into each other's as you slowly remove your helmets.
Your hands tremble, Ryland’s hands shake.
You can hear him shakily release a breath through his nose before he inhales deeply through his mouth.
You follow, doing the exact same thing as him.
Nothing happens.
Nothing happens.
You and Ryland breathe deeply as you continue to stare at each other, the adrenaline of what could’ve happened running through both of your bloodstreams.
Your hands still tremble, but the smile on your lips is quickly mirrored by Ryland’s own shaky smile before he huffs out in relief.
You can hear the alien chirping and whooping happily at the moment in the background.
You’re alive. You’re both alive.
Taglist Reblog
@moon-trash1507 @bigolidioot @shittyprofilebutfuckit
Another Believer (16)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.2K
Warnings: Very self-indulgent in the beginning <3
A/N: This chapter felt so nice to write, especially the beginning. I also did end up making a side-blog ( @kenough-for-me ) if you'd like to send requests over there or if you'd just like to chat! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! <3
Masterlist
The car doors slam shut behind you once you finally arrive at your destination.
The salty air instantly hits your lungs, the sharp cry of the seagulls hits your ears, the sun kisses your skin.
You pause where you stand, your eyes fluttering close as you take in a deep breath, taking in something that you hadn’t gotten to experience in such a long time.
“What are you doing, Starshine?”
You hear the familiar hum of Ryland behind you, feel the warmth of his hands against your hips as he moves to stand behind you.
“I’m having a moment.”
You answer in a soft tone, your eyes remaining closed. You couldn’t wait to feel the sand between your toes, the lapping of the waves against your ankles.
Ryland waits for you, watching you behind his glasses with a fullness in his heart, instantly noticing how your shoulders weren’t as tense as they had been the past few weeks.
Ryland remembers about a month ago.
He was lying beside you in bed, the darkness encompassing the room, your voice gentle as you spoke, not being able to sleep well that night.
You had spoken of the beach you visited when you were younger, how you missed living so close to one.
Just hearing the longing in your voice, Ryland had hatched a plan for spring break.
He could keep no secret from you, though, and he revealed his thoughts the next day in jumbled sentences during your lunch breaks.
Leading to where you both stood now.
Your eyes finally open, cringing at the bright sun reflecting on the water, catching the way the waves ripple as they hit the shore.
Taking a deep breath, your smile as bright as the sunshine, you grab one of Ryland’s hands from against your hip and begin to lead him towards the shore.
And he follows with a chuckle and a squeeze of your hand.
It didn’t take long for you two to set up the small canopy you had bought and the two chairs you had brought.
Your towel rests against your chair, Ryland’s mirroring right beside yours.
Both of your flip-flops sit right before your chairs.
The sand felt soft under your feet, warming your skin from where it had previously soaked in the heat of the sun.
Your hands work quickly to massage in sunscreen against your shoulders and face, making sure to rub your ears as a finality before you set your sun hat against your head and remove your bathing suit cover, setting it in your chair.
Ryland follows after your movements, taking the extra step to rub down his legs as well, before removing his shirt, leaving him in his swim shorts.
Ryland’s eyes take you in, the way you basically vibrated in your spot as you stare down the water right in front of you, and he can’t help the way his eyes roam over your form.
The way your bikini hugs you just right, showing off just the perfect amount of skin.
His thoughts are interrupted as you grip onto his hand, interlacing your fingers as you lead him towards the edge of the water.
Your steps are quick, hurried to feel the waves against your skin.
Ryland follows just as fast.
A squeal is forced out of you as you step into the lapping wave, a cold shiver rolling up your spine. Even after the sun is bright and shining, the ocean water still has a nip to it.
Ryland’s laughter soon follows behind your sound, his own grunt escaping him when he finally steps into the water as well.
“Good gracious, that’s cold!”
But you keep walking, your grip on his hand tight before you stop once your knees are submerged, the waves occasionally causing the cold water to kiss against your thighs.
Ryland stands beside you, staring out into the water, watching as the tide pulls the water back before a wave knocks gently against them.
You feel the way the sand moves under your feet, the way the sand shifts with every wave, occasionally shifting your feet when you would lose your footing.
The coast is far and wide, your eyes following every bird that flies overhead.
You take a deep breath where you stand, the salty air kissing your lungs in a way you hadn’t felt in so long.
“Thank you, My Grace.”
Your words are a gentle breath as you squeeze his hand, your eyes remaining on the tide around you, the foam of the sea.
“Anything for you, Starshine.”
He breaths back, his eyes moving to stare at you, to watch you in wonder as the stress from work seems to melt away at something as simple as feeling the cold water against your skin, at the sun kissing your shoulders.
And in that very moment, that very wondrous moment:
Both of you feel alive.
—
“Another present.”
Your eyes move over towards Ryland at the sound of his voice, finding him holding up the little box towards the alien before heading back towards where you were standing.
Once he gets close enough, you look curiously at the box in his hands, hearing the alien making more song note sounds in response.
The box had the same indentations as the others, but what stood out to you the most was the small design of what appeared to be the Hail Mary on one side.
It cracks open with a hiss just like the other objects did.
And what you found inside increased both your curiosity and your confusion.
It seemed to be a double loop of sorts, with crystal balls all around it at specific points.
The alien’s song continues as Ryland carefully takes the object out of the box, holding it up for both of you to see.
“We don’t have one of these.”
Ryland’s excitement, even if he didn’t understand what it was, was clear as day in his tone, his smile just as bright as before.
“I love it, thank you!”
Your hands reach out to gently trace over the object, feeling the crystal balls with your gloved hands before you look back at the alien, your own smile reflecting Ryland’s.
“It’s beautiful.”
You join in, the alien responding to both of your words with its song.
How you wish you could understand every note it sang.
You wondered what it was truly saying, but were interrupted as the alien began moving its appendages around, trying to get the two of you to understand something.
“Do I put this on my head?”
Ryland lifts the object towards his helmet, the balls gently tapping against the rough surface, but that only seems to frustrate the alien.
“Do I put it on her head?”
Ryland, trying to appease the alien and understand its movements, lifts the object towards your helmet, but the alien gives the same frustrated grumble of notes.
It wanted the two of you to do something.
The alien lifts two of its appendages, another myriad of notes coming from it as it tries to convey what it wanted you two to do.
“Take off my head?” Ryland questions, confusion seeping into his tone as the alien does the same motions.
“That’s not it.” You respond with a shake of your head, focusing on the movements. The alien moves its front from you to Ryland and back, as if wondering who would finally be able to figure it out.
It was like a game of charades at this point.
“Take my helmet off?”
Ryland finally guesses, earning him a happy set of chirps from the alien.
“No,” Ryland says while beginning to shake his head, “It’ll plllbt.” He puts his hand to his head, pretending to make an exploding motion.
“We’ll die without oxygen. Our suits provide the oxygen.”
You try explaining to the alien, showing it by taking a deep breath in and out.
The alien doesn’t take your answers, though, copying the motion again while turning to look at the two of you.
“That’s a big ask.”
Ryland begins, before the flickering of the nearby light informs you that your time there for the meantime is almost up.
“Oh. This has taken a turn.” Ryland looks back towards the other end of the tunnel before looking down at you and then returning his gaze to the alien.
While one hand holds up the object, the other hand places itself against your arm and begins to gently steer you back towards the ship, a leading motion that you’ve felt him do before in the recesses of your mind.
“Thank you for the… what I hope is not handcuffs.”
You chuckle in your helmet, shaking your head as you allow yourself to be led back towards the ship, looking over your shoulder and giving a small wave to the alien, who lifts one of its appendages in a copy of your movement.
“I’m sorry about the whole helmet thing. Unfortunately, we need oxygen to breathe, so...” Ryland continues with a slight chuckle after his sentence.
Before he freezes.
Feeling his hand slip from your arm, you turn to look over your shoulder, finding Ryland standing there staring at the object in his hands, his brows furrowed in thought.
“Ryland?” You question softly.
“Two rings of eight.” Is all he responds, his gaze never leaving the object as he speaks. “O₂.”
“You little rascal.”
His hand flops down, glancing over at you with a certain look, and turns back to face the wall, where the alien patiently waits behind, holding up the object that he had now realized to be the chemical structure of O₂.
“This is Oxygen!”
The alien, realizing that Ryland had finally understood what the object meant, begins to chirp excitedly, its claws tapping together before it repeats its earlier motion.
“It made a model of oxygen.” Your eyes stare up at the model, remaining in your sport, astonishment in your tone, “But… why?”
“It wants us to take off our helmets.” He responds to you in a softer tone before addressing the alien once more, “I still don’t think I can do it, though, sorry. It’s just, uh… You know… if I’m wrong, I’m really wrong.”
Ryland turns back to face you, his hand returning to your arm to lead you back towards the ship, stopping and reaching down to fix where the wires had spliced with duct tape.
The alien is illuminated once more, still positioned right behind the wall, as you could assume, staring at the two of you.
“Ryland… do you think it made oxygen?”
“We can’t chance it, Starshine. Death would be imminent.”
His voice was soft again as he stood once he finished fixing the wires, staring over towards the alien for a few seconds longer before turning and reaching his hand back out to lead you once again.
His voice didn’t sound convincing, not to himself, and definitely not to you.
You follow his lead without fight, though, but once again, he stops right as you two make it to the airlock latch, having it within arm's reach.
His hand slowly falls from your arm, causing your gaze to follow it to his eyes, finding him glancing around before looking at you.
You can hear his breath quickening through the comm link, before his hands slowly begin to reach for the part of his helmet that connected it to the rest of his space suit.
Your heart jolts as you quickly reach out to grab onto his wrists, your eyes widen as you stare up at him.
This was crazy!
“Ryland? What are you doing?” Your voice bled with worry, knowing that if he was wrong…
You didn’t want to think about the consequences.
He doesn’t respond, just stares at you with a look in his eyes that mirrors your own.
Your hands gently tighten their grip around his wrists, willing him to stop before something bad happens, but the look in his eyes…
The same look of fear of the unknown was front and center; past that was a look. A begging look that pleaded with you to trust him.
And you did.
Deep within, you always did.
Giving one final squeeze, you slowly release your hands from around his wrists, shakily moving them to your own spot where your helmet connects to your suit.
Staring into his eyes, you give him a slight nod.
This could kill you. Both of you.
But you trusted Ryland.
You both take deep breaths before unlocking the connection, your eyes stare into each other's as you slowly remove your helmets.
Your hands tremble, Ryland’s hands shake.
You can hear him shakily release a breath through his nose before he inhales deeply through his mouth.
You follow, doing the exact same thing as him.
Nothing happens.
Nothing happens.
You and Ryland breathe deeply as you continue to stare at each other, the adrenaline of what could’ve happened running through both of your bloodstreams.
Your hands still tremble, but the smile on your lips is quickly mirrored by Ryland’s own shaky smile before he huffs out in relief.
You can hear the alien chirping and whooping happily at the moment in the background.
You’re alive. You’re both alive.
Another Believer (15)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.8K
Warnings: None
A/N: And we're back! I had a wonderful vacation at the beach, but I'm glad to be back home and writing for Ryland again. I might do a beach-themed memory in the near future >.< Or I might just make a side-blog for Ryan Gosling characters and write for Ken, who's to tell ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
Previous Chapter .~.~. Next Chapter
Ryland was frantic as he moved about the ship, his mind set on what he wanted to do and gathering what he needed to accomplish it.
He never voiced his thoughts to you, instead using you as an unwitting accomplice.
You couldn’t find it in yourself to mind not being told why you were sifting through the storage containers and the lab drawers, somewhere deep within your mind understanding that this was just him in action.
So lost in whatever he was doing, so focused on his task, that the outside world began to slip from his fingers.
You follow along as he tears up light fixtures from around the ship, grabbing nets and duct tape as he goes, following his orders as he points at stuff for you to grab as well.
He even works quickly to build his own model of the alien ship out of uncooked ramen noodles, breaking off the pieces and eating what he didn’t need.
Holding up the finished masterpiece, you find yourself chuckling softly at the crudeness of it.
It reminded you of how your students would rush through projects at the last minute, just throwing together what they believed would work for the passing grade.
Moving on to the next thing, his hands work quickly to empty the container that once held graduated cylinders into a small suitcase. You hold the now-empty container steady as Ryland places all of the flashlights he found in the ship into the holder.
“Ryland,” You finally voice out as you stand beside him in the air-lock chamber, watching him get back into the space suit. Your eyes follow his hands as he grabs the small gun he had found in one of the storage containers and places it into the tiny pouch on his leg.
Would he really need such drastic measures?
He believed so, and the next second, he grabbed a large wrench off the wall, gripping it tightly between his gloved fingers.
An extra weapon if need be.
“What’s the plan here?”
He pauses in the middle of wrapping the light cords around his shoulder, his eyes finally finding yours from behind the shield of the helmet.
His thoughts were so easily readable in just the way he looked at you.
The excitement of the unknown, the guilt for not telling you sooner than now, the realization that you had so easily gone along with his whims.
“I’m going back in the tunnel.”
“Okay… then what?”
You probe further, taking a step towards him to help him with the last few feet of wires, making sure they are steady on his shoulder. His voice fills the space around you, watching as you work.
“I’m going to make second contact. We’ll set up the camera and lights in the tunnel for recording purposes, along with some portable technology. What happens next… I’ll figure out as I go.”
You hum in acknowledgement at his loosely thought-out plan, glancing over him one more time before finally meeting his gaze.
It could work, and you two would be the first people to ever make contact with alien life.
Or it could fail, and Ryland could be killed at worst.
Wait…
Your brain finally catches up to a specific part of his sentence, one that causes your brows to furrow and confusion to quickly misplace your once thoughtful look.
“We?”
A smile overtakes his lips at the clear confusion on your face, a proud look that only seemed to baffle you more, before he gestures over towards where Ilyukhina’s suit was usually stationed.
“I adjusted her suit as much as I could to fit you better, seeing as you didn’t have a suit.”
And if you looked even closer at the suit, his words were only proven more.
Ilyukhina’s suit was no longer hers; instead, one of the name patches from an extra suit of yours was now in its place.
The suit was yours.
“The torso was tricky, as it's custom-built to fit Ilyukhina, but everything else I was able to adjust to your size.”
You couldn’t believe it.
Your eyes move from the suit over towards Ryland, finding him still staring at the suit, as if it were one of his greatest masterpieces.
“The limb sections, waist, and shoulders were the easiest parts of the adjustment. I’m thankful that they supplied us with a tape measure so I could make sure it was accurate enough,” He continues explaining, before something suddenly clicks in his mind, and his words cease out into silence.
Just as it clicked for him, so too did it click for you.
Ryland never measured you for this.
He knew your measurements by heart.
Like how you knew his mannerisms… he knew you just the same.
He clears his throat, desperate to wave off the way the air between you began to tense. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable suffocation.
It was loss.
The loss of whatever you two had. Clearly, something so much has been fizzled out into memories that barely surfaced when you wanted them to.
“We don’t have time to waste.”
His voice came out small, barely heard from his helmet as he moved to stand over by the depressurization button, eyes locked on it.
Your eyes stay on his back as he walks away.
Ryland was just as lost as you were with all of this.
Your mind wanders as you carefully put on the suit, having memorized how Ryland put on his own. Your slight struggle goes unnoticed by the man standing before you, clumsy in putting on the spacesuit, less so than he was when he first did it.
The heaviness of the space suit against your skin goes unnoticed, less of a priority than trying to force yourself to remember more.
But nothing comes. It never does.
You can never force a memory.
Clicking the helmet into place, you despise that simple fact. The memories come when they want to, not when you need them to.
Waiting for the sound of your helmet being snapped into place, Ryland reaches forward and hits the depressurization button.
He silently gestures towards the wall of wrenches, his movements an indicator that he wanted you to grab one as well.
For protection, you guessed.
Your hands wrap around a medium-sized wrench, finding it a little difficult to grip something with your fingers now gloved.
You barely have time to react as the other door to the air-lock hatch flies open, the force and pressure of it sending Ryland back.
His body slams into yours, both of you forced against the door to the ship, before you slump down with the weight of Ryland’s body still on top of you.
Your ears ring from the way it bounced against the helmet, and the air was promptly knocked out of you.
Barely there, you catch a groan from Ryland, his movement felt against you before you feel him finally relieve you of his weight, your own groan being pushed out of you.
“Sorry, sorry.”
His words pushed through the ringing that was slowly disappearing; his hands felt under your arms as he pulled you to stand.
You blink a few times, trying to will yourself to focus, slightly stumbling on your feet before you feel hands against your shoulders.
“You okay?”
His voice echoes in your helmet, your eyes finally focusing enough to glance up at him to give a slight nod.
“Good. ‘m good.”
Your words were a bit of a struggle, but the ringing was soon beginning to disappear, and the sudden shock of the hit followed with it.
Ryland stares at you for just a bit longer, his hands squeezing your shoulders as if he almost didn’t believe you, taking you in with the efficiency of a scientist.
Your wobbling had ceased, your eyes were now fully focused on him, and you didn’t seem bruised.
His shoulders relax slightly before he gives a small nod.
“Alright. Stay close.”
A nod is all you respond with, moving to grab the contraption of flashlights as Ryland readjusts the wires on his shoulder.
He goes first out of the hatch, carefully landing in the tunnel, waiting to hear the thumps of your feet behind him before he walks deeper.
Your eyes look around as he leads you, staring at the intricacies of the tunnel surrounding both of you.
It was astonishing.
And it was built so quickly!
As you walk, your eyes continuing to move around instead of looking straight ahead, you miss the way Ryland occasionally looks back at you.
As if checking that you were still there, following right behind him.
“Alright, we’re here.”
His voice interrupts your astonishment at the tunnel, your eyes finally moving forward, only to find a wall in your path.
Moving closer as Ryland begins to set up the different light fixtures, your hand slowly traces over the grooves of the wall.
It’s almost as if it were made of crystal.
“It’s beautiful.” You whisper, moving the flashlights around.
“Oh my. This is new.”
Your gaze moves over towards Ryland, finding him now standing beside you in front of the wall, staring at it with the same wonder that you were.
“New?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t all see-through before; only a small section was. This… This is new.”
Ryland sets up the last light fixture against the wall, staring inside of it for just a few moments before bringing up a closed fist, knocking against the wall.
“Anybody home?”
He calls out, clearly hoping that the alien would be able to hear him.
You stand beside him, setting the flashlight contraption onto the floor, but facing the wall for an extra source of light.
“I like what you’ve done with the gravity!”
Ryland continues, giving a thumbs up to the presumably empty tunnel on the other side, before holding up the sculpture he made out of uncooked ramen and duct tape.
“I made you a ship… with ramen.”
Ripping some duct tape off the roll he brought with him, you watch as he begins to tape it to the wall, your brow raising ever so slightly at his actions.
“I only made one, I’m… not sure how many of you there are.”
He pokes the tape edges, making sure that it would stick, before slowly standing straight once again, peering into the tunnel, hope radiating off of him.
You glance up at him, but nothing continues to happen.
“Ryland, are you sure-”
Your voice fades out as you look back at the tunnel, freezing when something begins to move in the shadows on the other side of the wall.
Your heart stutters at the sight before you.
It crawls down from the top of the tunnel, with too many limbs protruding from its short body.
Instinctively, your hand reaches out to grip onto Ryland’s arm for stability, who seemed to be in his own shocked trance.
The two of you stare, watching in silence as it slowly crawls down the wall towards where you both stood.
As it grows closer, you begin to take notice of its features through the cold wave of fear that holds you in its grasp.
It… almost seemed like a giant tan colored rock.
Parts of it move with a deep sound, before a high-pitched coo escapes it, its body turning ever so slightly.
It seems to focus on Ryland for a few seconds before it turns to you, taking you in for just a bit longer.
The three of you observe each other in silence, your grip on Ryland’s arm only tightening as his breath grows heavier, before he slowly lifts his other hand in a peace sign.
“Hi.”
Ryland breathes out to the alien, who turns around in response to his words.
It continues to move around the wall, its appendages clicking against the material as song-like notes begin to leave it.
As you observe it, you can’t seem to find any eyes or mouths, and you wonder how it can produce such beautiful sounds.
You both watch as it moves down to the part of the wall where Ryland taped the model, Ryland slowly bending with you following, your grip on his arm remaining.
It seems to point to the model, with what you can only assume to be a finger?
It suddenly moves its body, too quickly for you to like, and a deep sound protrudes from it.
You and Ryland both scream at the sight, the alien’s own high-pitched screaming mixing in.
Ryland pushes you behind him as you both scream, thinking that the alien is trying to attack you. He raises the hand that protectively holds the wrench, moving to hit the wall as a show for the alien to back off.
Peeking around Ryland, you watch as the alien stumbles back, holding its own appendages up protectively, sounds escaping it as your and Ryland’s screams finally cease.
The alien hisses, lunging his appendage towards you.
Your breath was quick, feeling the misunderstanding swimming through the air, realizing that the alien was clearly not wanting to attack you both until Ryland showed aggression first.
Ryland notices this too and quickly moves to put the wrench down.
“No no no no no, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
He holds his hands up in surrender, and you move to do the same.
“You scared me when you went… aaagh!”
You flinch when Ryland copies what the alien did, your eyes flying up to him before moving back to the alien as it puts two appendages up and makes a sound.
Wait… was it… copying Ryland?
Ryland puts his hands down slightly and then suddenly raises them and puts them down again.
The alien does the same.
Continuing to peek from behind Ryland, you watch as Ryland slowly begins to do a little dance, and just as expected… the alien follows his every move.
“Ryland, what are you-” Your voice is a whisper cutting through your helmets.
“I’m doing science.” He mutters back in response, moving his arm in the worm before doing a few more poses.
Each time the alien follows his every lead.
Ryland’s chuckle soon fills the tunnel, a soft sound, something you feel like you haven’t heard in a while.
High-pitched squeaks from the alien soon join in right after.
The alien was even copying his laugh.
A giggle bubbles past your lips, slowly moving from behind Ryland to instead stand beside him.
Higher-pitched squeaks leave the alien.
He was even copying you!
Your grip on Ryland’s arm slowly loosens as the two of you begin to make your way towards the wall, the alien following on the other side.
“Wow.” Ryland chuckles out, slowly grabbing the nearest light fixture and holding it up to the alien.
Specks of blue littered the surface of the alien, along with deep grooves that seemed to symbolize something in whatever language it understood.
“This is amazing.” You mumble, your eyes moving quickly to try and take in everything about the alien.
“I can’t seem to see a face. Mysterious.”
Soft sounds escape the alien in response to Ryland’s words.
“Faces are overrated.”
The alien soon reaches an appendage up, tapping at the wall as a melody of sounds leaves it.
Ryland reaches up, poking the wall the same way the alien did, now copying it.
Your brows furrow as the alien does the same motion again, but quicker.
Was it trying to tell you something?
“You like tapping, huh?” Ryland seems to take it as some sort of game, copying the tapping and the sound of the notes the alien had made.
The alien taps again, making the sounds slower now.
Your eyes glance around the tunnel, gaze moving to where the alien had been pointing at.
“Um… Ryland.”
“Not now, Starshine.”
He brushes you off easily, his smile clear through his helmet as he and the alien begin tapping at the wall, the noise becoming incessant.
“Ryland-”
“This is fun.”
The alien’s tapping and noises finally become more forceful, and you tug at his arm, both of you growing tired of Ryland not seeming to notice what was happening.
“What- oh.”
He looked over towards where the alien was pointing, and you had tugged, finding a small box made of the same material as the other objects resting in a crevice of the tunnel.
Ryland’s shoulders droop as he glances at the alien, who gave one last round of sounds.
“You were pointing,” He sighs out, “You’re not tapping. Sorry.”
As Ryland walks over towards the box, you stay in your place by the wall, your gaze moving back towards the alien, its body tilting towards you now.
And even with the fact that it didn’t have facial features.
You could tell that you were both giving each other the same, exasperated look.
Taglist Reblog
@moon-trash1507 @bigolidioot @shittyprofilebutfuckit
Another Believer (15)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.8K
Warnings: None
A/N: And we're back! I had a wonderful vacation at the beach, but I'm glad to be back home and writing for Ryland again. I might do a beach-themed memory in the near future >.< Or I might just make a side-blog for Ryan Gosling characters and write for Ken, who's to tell ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
Masterlist
Ryland was frantic as he moved about the ship, his mind set on what he wanted to do and gathering what he needed to accomplish it.
He never voiced his thoughts to you, instead using you as an unwitting accomplice.
You couldn’t find it in yourself to mind not being told why you were sifting through the storage containers and the lab drawers, somewhere deep within your mind understanding that this was just him in action.
So lost in whatever he was doing, so focused on his task, that the outside world began to slip from his fingers.
You follow along as he tears up light fixtures from around the ship, grabbing nets and duct tape as he goes, following his orders as he points at stuff for you to grab as well.
He even works quickly to build his own model of the alien ship out of uncooked ramen noodles, breaking off the pieces and eating what he didn’t need.
Holding up the finished masterpiece, you find yourself chuckling softly at the crudeness of it.
It reminded you of how your students would rush through projects at the last minute, just throwing together what they believed would work for the passing grade.
Moving on to the next thing, his hands work quickly to empty the container that once held graduated cylinders into a small suitcase. You hold the now-empty container steady as Ryland places all of the flashlights he found in the ship into the holder.
“Ryland,” You finally voice out as you stand beside him in the air-lock chamber, watching him get back into the space suit. Your eyes follow his hands as he grabs the small gun he had found in one of the storage containers and places it into the tiny pouch on his leg.
Would he really need such drastic measures?
He believed so, and the next second, he grabbed a large wrench off the wall, gripping it tightly between his gloved fingers.
An extra weapon if need be.
“What’s the plan here?”
He pauses in the middle of wrapping the light cords around his shoulder, his eyes finally finding yours from behind the shield of the helmet.
His thoughts were so easily readable in just the way he looked at you.
The excitement of the unknown, the guilt for not telling you sooner than now, the realization that you had so easily gone along with his whims.
“I’m going back in the tunnel.”
“Okay… then what?”
You probe further, taking a step towards him to help him with the last few feet of wires, making sure they are steady on his shoulder. His voice fills the space around you, watching as you work.
“I’m going to make second contact. We’ll set up the camera and lights in the tunnel for recording purposes, along with some portable technology. What happens next… I’ll figure out as I go.”
You hum in acknowledgement at his loosely thought-out plan, glancing over him one more time before finally meeting his gaze.
It could work, and you two would be the first people to ever make contact with alien life.
Or it could fail, and Ryland could be killed at worst.
Wait…
Your brain finally catches up to a specific part of his sentence, one that causes your brows to furrow and confusion to quickly misplace your once thoughtful look.
“We?”
A smile overtakes his lips at the clear confusion on your face, a proud look that only seemed to baffle you more, before he gestures over towards where Ilyukhina’s suit was usually stationed.
“I adjusted her suit as much as I could to fit you better, seeing as you didn’t have a suit.”
And if you looked even closer at the suit, his words were only proven more.
Ilyukhina’s suit was no longer hers; instead, one of the name patches from an extra suit of yours was now in its place.
The suit was yours.
“The torso was tricky, as it's custom-built to fit Ilyukhina, but everything else I was able to adjust to your size.”
You couldn’t believe it.
Your eyes move from the suit over towards Ryland, finding him still staring at the suit, as if it were one of his greatest masterpieces.
“The limb sections, waist, and shoulders were the easiest parts of the adjustment. I’m thankful that they supplied us with a tape measure so I could make sure it was accurate enough,” He continues explaining, before something suddenly clicks in his mind, and his words cease out into silence.
Just as it clicked for him, so too did it click for you.
Ryland never measured you for this.
He knew your measurements by heart.
Like how you knew his mannerisms… he knew you just the same.
He clears his throat, desperate to wave off the way the air between you began to tense. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable suffocation.
It was loss.
The loss of whatever you two had. Clearly, something so much has been fizzled out into memories that barely surfaced when you wanted them to.
“We don’t have time to waste.”
His voice came out small, barely heard from his helmet as he moved to stand over by the depressurization button, eyes locked on it.
Your eyes stay on his back as he walks away.
Ryland was just as lost as you were with all of this.
Your mind wanders as you carefully put on the suit, having memorized how Ryland put on his own. Your slight struggle goes unnoticed by the man standing before you, clumsy in putting on the spacesuit, less so than he was when he first did it.
The heaviness of the space suit against your skin goes unnoticed, less of a priority than trying to force yourself to remember more.
But nothing comes. It never does.
You can never force a memory.
Clicking the helmet into place, you despise that simple fact. The memories come when they want to, not when you need them to.
Waiting for the sound of your helmet being snapped into place, Ryland reaches forward and hits the depressurization button.
He silently gestures towards the wall of wrenches, his movements an indicator that he wanted you to grab one as well.
For protection, you guessed.
Your hands wrap around a medium-sized wrench, finding it a little difficult to grip something with your fingers now gloved.
You barely have time to react as the other door to the air-lock hatch flies open, the force and pressure of it sending Ryland back.
His body slams into yours, both of you forced against the door to the ship, before you slump down with the weight of Ryland’s body still on top of you.
Your ears ring from the way it bounced against the helmet, and the air was promptly knocked out of you.
Barely there, you catch a groan from Ryland, his movement felt against you before you feel him finally relieve you of his weight, your own groan being pushed out of you.
“Sorry, sorry.”
His words pushed through the ringing that was slowly disappearing; his hands felt under your arms as he pulled you to stand.
You blink a few times, trying to will yourself to focus, slightly stumbling on your feet before you feel hands against your shoulders.
“You okay?”
His voice echoes in your helmet, your eyes finally focusing enough to glance up at him to give a slight nod.
“Good. ‘m good.”
Your words were a bit of a struggle, but the ringing was soon beginning to disappear, and the sudden shock of the hit followed with it.
Ryland stares at you for just a bit longer, his hands squeezing your shoulders as if he almost didn’t believe you, taking you in with the efficiency of a scientist.
Your wobbling had ceased, your eyes were now fully focused on him, and you didn’t seem bruised.
His shoulders relax slightly before he gives a small nod.
“Alright. Stay close.”
A nod is all you respond with, moving to grab the contraption of flashlights as Ryland readjusts the wires on his shoulder.
He goes first out of the hatch, carefully landing in the tunnel, waiting to hear the thumps of your feet behind him before he walks deeper.
Your eyes look around as he leads you, staring at the intricacies of the tunnel surrounding both of you.
It was astonishing.
And it was built so quickly!
As you walk, your eyes continuing to move around instead of looking straight ahead, you miss the way Ryland occasionally looks back at you.
As if checking that you were still there, following right behind him.
“Alright, we’re here.”
His voice interrupts your astonishment at the tunnel, your eyes finally moving forward, only to find a wall in your path.
Moving closer as Ryland begins to set up the different light fixtures, your hand slowly traces over the grooves of the wall.
It’s almost as if it were made of crystal.
“It’s beautiful.” You whisper, moving the flashlights around.
“Oh my. This is new.”
Your gaze moves over towards Ryland, finding him now standing beside you in front of the wall, staring at it with the same wonder that you were.
“New?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t all see-through before; only a small section was. This… This is new.”
Ryland sets up the last light fixture against the wall, staring inside of it for just a few moments before bringing up a closed fist, knocking against the wall.
“Anybody home?”
He calls out, clearly hoping that the alien would be able to hear him.
You stand beside him, setting the flashlight contraption onto the floor, but facing the wall for an extra source of light.
“I like what you’ve done with the gravity!”
Ryland continues, giving a thumbs up to the presumably empty tunnel on the other side, before holding up the sculpture he made out of uncooked ramen and duct tape.
“I made you a ship… with ramen.”
Ripping some duct tape off the roll he brought with him, you watch as he begins to tape it to the wall, your brow raising ever so slightly at his actions.
“I only made one, I’m… not sure how many of you there are.”
He pokes the tape edges, making sure that it would stick, before slowly standing straight once again, peering into the tunnel, hope radiating off of him.
You glance up at him, but nothing continues to happen.
“Ryland, are you sure-”
Your voice fades out as you look back at the tunnel, freezing when something begins to move in the shadows on the other side of the wall.
Your heart stutters at the sight before you.
It crawls down from the top of the tunnel, with too many limbs protruding from its short body.
Instinctively, your hand reaches out to grip onto Ryland’s arm for stability, who seemed to be in his own shocked trance.
The two of you stare, watching in silence as it slowly crawls down the wall towards where you both stood.
As it grows closer, you begin to take notice of its features through the cold wave of fear that holds you in its grasp.
It… almost seemed like a giant tan colored rock.
Parts of it move with a deep sound, before a high-pitched coo escapes it, its body turning ever so slightly.
It seems to focus on Ryland for a few seconds before it turns to you, taking you in for just a bit longer.
The three of you observe each other in silence, your grip on Ryland’s arm only tightening as his breath grows heavier, before he slowly lifts his other hand in a peace sign.
“Hi.”
Ryland breathes out to the alien, who turns around in response to his words.
It continues to move around the wall, its appendages clicking against the material as song-like notes begin to leave it.
As you observe it, you can’t seem to find any eyes or mouths, and you wonder how it can produce such beautiful sounds.
You both watch as it moves down to the part of the wall where Ryland taped the model, Ryland slowly bending with you following, your grip on his arm remaining.
It seems to point to the model, with what you can only assume to be a finger?
It suddenly moves its body, too quickly for you to like, and a deep sound protrudes from it.
You and Ryland both scream at the sight, the alien’s own high-pitched screaming mixing in.
Ryland pushes you behind him as you both scream, thinking that the alien is trying to attack you. He raises the hand that protectively holds the wrench, moving to hit the wall as a show for the alien to back off.
Peeking around Ryland, you watch as the alien stumbles back, holding its own appendages up protectively, sounds escaping it as your and Ryland’s screams finally cease.
The alien hisses, lunging his appendage towards you.
Your breath was quick, feeling the misunderstanding swimming through the air, realizing that the alien was clearly not wanting to attack you both until Ryland showed aggression first.
Ryland notices this too and quickly moves to put the wrench down.
“No no no no no, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
He holds his hands up in surrender, and you move to do the same.
“You scared me when you went… aaagh!”
You flinch when Ryland copies what the alien did, your eyes flying up to him before moving back to the alien as it puts two appendages up and makes a sound.
Wait… was it… copying Ryland?
Ryland puts his hands down slightly and then suddenly raises them and puts them down again.
The alien does the same.
Continuing to peek from behind Ryland, you watch as Ryland slowly begins to do a little dance, and just as expected… the alien follows his every move.
“Ryland, what are you-” Your voice is a whisper cutting through your helmets.
“I’m doing science.” He mutters back in response, moving his arm in the worm before doing a few more poses.
Each time the alien follows his every lead.
Ryland’s chuckle soon fills the tunnel, a soft sound, something you feel like you haven’t heard in a while.
High-pitched squeaks from the alien soon join in right after.
The alien was even copying his laugh.
A giggle bubbles past your lips, slowly moving from behind Ryland to instead stand beside him.
Higher-pitched squeaks leave the alien.
He was even copying you!
Your grip on Ryland’s arm slowly loosens as the two of you begin to make your way towards the wall, the alien following on the other side.
“Wow.” Ryland chuckles out, slowly grabbing the nearest light fixture and holding it up to the alien.
Specks of blue littered the surface of the alien, along with deep grooves that seemed to symbolize something in whatever language it understood.
“This is amazing.” You mumble, your eyes moving quickly to try and take in everything about the alien.
“I can’t seem to see a face. Mysterious.”
Soft sounds escape the alien in response to Ryland’s words.
“Faces are overrated.”
The alien soon reaches an appendage up, tapping at the wall as a melody of sounds leaves it.
Ryland reaches up, poking the wall the same way the alien did, now copying it.
Your brows furrow as the alien does the same motion again, but quicker.
Was it trying to tell you something?
“You like tapping, huh?” Ryland seems to take it as some sort of game, copying the tapping and the sound of the notes the alien had made.
The alien taps again, making the sounds slower now.
Your eyes glance around the tunnel, gaze moving to where the alien had been pointing at.
“Um… Ryland.”
“Not now, Starshine.”
He brushes you off easily, his smile clear through his helmet as he and the alien begin tapping at the wall, the noise becoming incessant.
“Ryland-”
“This is fun.”
The alien’s tapping and noises finally become more forceful, and you tug at his arm, both of you growing tired of Ryland not seeming to notice what was happening.
“What- oh.”
He looked over towards where the alien was pointing, and you had tugged, finding a small box made of the same material as the other objects resting in a crevice of the tunnel.
Ryland’s shoulders droop as he glances at the alien, who gave one last round of sounds.
“You were pointing,” He sighs out, “You’re not tapping. Sorry.”
As Ryland walks over towards the box, you stay in your place by the wall, your gaze moving back towards the alien, its body tilting towards you now.
And even with the fact that it didn’t have facial features.
You could tell that you were both giving each other the same, exasperated look.
Ryland who always has to kiss you on his way out the door, or makes sure you kiss him on your way out the door. If he leaves without one, no matter HOW FAR he gets, he will come back and kiss you. A fast, swift peck to the lips that leaves you reeling for more and it's always accompanied by a winded smile before he's leaving again.
If you try to leave without giving him one, he'll follow you to the door, grab you by your hip and turn you around before planting a firm one. You smile against his lips, shuffling a little bit closer and murmuring, "Ry, I'm going to be late." "Just one more." He utters back, his breath against your lips and before you know it, he's got you against the door and his mouth is falling back to yours.
I just love this so much!! This is so Ryland in Another Believer coded, I’m giggling and kicking my feet. The kids can definitely tell when he doesn’t get his morning kiss from Reader 🫶🏻🥺
Another Believer (14)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.6K
Warnings: None
A/N: Hello everyone! I'm going to be on vacation for the next 5 days, so I won't be able to update until I get back home. Thank you all again for loving my story as much as I do! <3
Previous Chapter .~.~. Next Chapter
Ryland had decided that it would be best to send your own little message back to the alien, immediately getting to work on adding Earth to the star map the alien had made, working deep into what would be considered bedtime.
Deep in your mind, you faintly recall him always being like that.
It was just something you knew about Ryland.
Memories were coming quicker and easier; Less so being a hard time, and more just the fact that it was something you remembered.
Lying in your pod on your stomach, your chin rested against your crossed arms, eyes watching as Ryland configured a little Earth to add to the star chart object.
Your eyes fought the sleep that your body so desperately craved, having the need to watch over Ryland as he worked.
Your eyes flutter against your will, closing despite you trying to keep them open.
And when you finally push through the haze of sleep, your eyes just barely cracking open, you find yourself lying on something different, something slightly more comfortable.
Right beside the bed, Ryland sat at the desk, a stack of papers in front of him, barely being illuminated by the lamp that he worked so hard to keep from shining on your once sleeping face.
His eyes were focused in front of him, scribbling something with a ferocity only he could muster when he was working on something that troubled him.
“My Grace?”
Your voice was soft and groggy, breaking the silence that once encompassed the room.
Ryland jumps a little in his chair at the sudden sound of your voice, his knee banging against the desk and a hiss escaping him before he begins to quickly rub at the now throbbing spot.
His eyes quickly snap over towards you, finding you trying to hide the giggle that wanted to escape at his misfortune, a few snickers escaping despite your best effort.
“Starshine,” He breathes out, turning the chair slightly to where he was now facing you, “Did I wake you?”
He reaches forward, his hand coming to rest on your cheek, thumb gently rubbing against the soft skin there. The continuous motion relaxed you even further in the bed you lay upon, sleep risking to take you into its clutches once again.
“A little bit,” You mumble truthfully, “What are you working on?”
Guilt quickly begins to swim in his gaze as he stares down at you, his eyes flicking over towards the stack of papers before finding you once again.
“Just trying to perfect the equation for breeding Astrophage. One wrong move and this hangar goes sky high.”
Ryland’s answer causes a hum of a chuckle to escape you. How, even in the face of danger, his words still had that familiar lilt.
The excitement of science.
His thumb soon begins its gentle caress of your cheek once again, your eyes struggling to stay open just a few moments longer.
Ryland instantly notices.
“Go back to sleep, Starshine. I’ll be in bed soon.”
The addition of his soft spoken tone only added to your struggle, giving the smallest of nods before sleep easily overcomes you once again.
—
The next day was an important one for you while being on the hangar.
It would be your first time taking care of a baby while the parents went back to work after enough time had passed.
A room had been designated for you to work in, decked out with as much stuff as they could have delivered to them on the hangar.
You stood in the middle of the room, gently bouncing the infant boy, Phillip, in your arms while feeding them a bottle of breastmilk that his mother had prepared the night before.
There was a new guard assigned during this time who stood in the room with you as well, talking just enough to introduce themselves to you.
Trinity.
She stood straight, just like any other soldier that you had come across, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, eyes sharp and focused behind her glasses.
She wasn’t much of a talker; that much you could tell just from the few hours you were stuck in a room with her.
You didn’t mind.
You weren’t much of one either towards people you didn’t know.
The little boy in your arms squirms once he’s gained his fill from the bottle, causing you to gently pull it from his mouth and set it on the table beside you.
Making sure the burp rag is placed on your shoulder, you carefully adjust Phillip so that his head is lying against the same shoulder before patting his back to get him to burp.
Your rhythmic patting filled the once-silent room, Phillip’s little fists flailing around, soft sounds escaping him before a burp soon follows.
“Good job, hun.”
You hum out, moving Phillip to where he’s lying in your arms once more, his eyes staring up at you before glancing around the room with soft coos.
You move to sit in one of the chairs placed in the room, making sure to support Phillip’s head before your gaze finally moves over towards Trinity.
“So… what are you meant to do here?”
You ask, adjusting your grip on Phillip as he squirms around. Trinity’s eyes finally meet your own, having been staring out the window of the room this entire time. Her body remains tense, ready for any action that might require her.
Which you doubt would happen anytime soon.
“I make sure nobody else enters the room.” Is all she responds, before her gaze moves back towards the window.
A small sigh escapes you at how quickly the conversation had fizzled out, your gaze moving down to Phillip, only to find him beginning to fall asleep.
This was going to be a long… boring… day.
—
Day in and day out around the same person led to some interesting things.
Weeks of being confined together for long periods of time allowed you to slowly chip at the cracks of Trinity’s personality.
Phillip was currently sleeping in the small crib they had brought aboard, your eyes watching the consistent rise and fall of his chest, his little hands clenched into fists, the occasional soft noise escaping him as he dreams.
You sat at the small table, drinking water that they kept stocked in the fridge. Trinity was still stationed around the door, but her shoulders seemed looser, her body seemed less tense than it did on that first day.
Her eyes not so sharp.
“I heard another private is pregnant.”
Trinity’s voice, soft to keep from waking the sleeping infant, soon fills the room, your gaze snapping over towards her form. Your eyes widen slightly at the news that was given to you, your hand gripping onto the water bottle that you had just taken a sip from.
“Really?”
Your own voice matched in softness, knowing how easily Phillip awoke when his surroundings were too loud.
Trinity glances at you from the corner of her eye, her head doing the slightest of nods in response to your question.
Your lips quirk into a small smile at realizing that she was finally reaching out to start a conversation, even if it was because of a rumor.
And this wouldn’t be the last gossip session between the two of you in the nursery.
—
You yelp as your head suddenly aches, bumping into a hard surface.
Your eyes shoot open, sleep long forgotten as you find yourself floating in the pod, zero gravity having been activated while you had been asleep.
Using the wall of the pod, you carefully turn your body to look past the doorway of the sleeping quarters, finding that while you had been sleeping, Ryland had tied rope all around the ship to make navigating in zero gravity much easier.
How long had you been asleep?
You reach up to gently rub your eyes, willing the sleep away before pushing yourself out of the sleeping pod, gripping onto the nearest rope to keep yourself as steady as you could in zero gravity.
“Ryland?”
You call out, only to have no response be your answer.
You use the rope to guide you out of the sleeping quarters, making your way towards the lab, thinking that he might be there out of all the places on the ship.
But before you can get too far, you hear the sounds of shuffling towards the airlock hatch.
Pushing off one rope and grabbing onto another, you follow towards the sound, finding Ryland getting into the spacesuit once more.
As if sensing your presence, his body stops its movements and turns to face you, his eyes taking in your floating form gripping onto the ropes.
“Hey,” He breathes out, “You were out for a while. We actually got another object. They made a model of the two ships.”
He got the inner suit on easier now that he had done it quite a few times. When he looks back over at you, he finds confusion in your eyes.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” You ask softly, keeping your grip tight on the rope so you don’t float away from it.
Ryland pauses at your question, as if taking it in and determining the answer for himself.
“I didn’t want to wake you.” He responds simply, giving the smallest shrug as he moves over to the outer suit, “You looked peaceful.”
Peaceful.
Using the rope, you follow after him closer to the airlock hatch, now hanging onto the frame as you watch him put on the helmet without the struggle that he had last time.
“What are you doing?”
“In the model, they added a line going from their ship to this hatch. I’m trying to figure out what it means.”
He suddenly gestures beside where you were floating, making sure his helmet was in place.
“Make sure you put the comm link in your ear.”
His words were said as if this was all normal now, as if the prospect of aliens was slowly becoming something that he was getting used to.
You do as he says, though, following his directions as easily as breathing air.
The airlock hatch hisses as it closes, but he doesn’t open the other end; he instead waits at the window, watching the ship opposite the Hail Mary.
His breathing is all you hear for quite some time, your hands continuing to grip the nearest handle so you can watch him through the window on the door you were beside.
Suddenly, his breath hitches, and before you could even ask what happened, his shocked-filled voice echoes in your ear.
“A tunnel… holy cow, I think they’re building a tunnel.”
You don’t say anything in response, not knowing if you could even voice your own shock at the prospect of such a thing.
Time passes quickly, Ryland reaching over to grab and turn on the flashlight that had once been floating beside him.
“I’m going in.”
His voice crackles in your ear, breathless from fear of the unknown, but also excitement of figuring out what was going on.
“Be careful.”
You breathe back, getting nothing in response as you watch through the window. Ryland slowly opens the door, the outer edges of the lights suddenly flicking on as well.
Ryland double-checks his tether to the ship, his eyes glancing over his shoulder and locking onto yours. All he gives is a small nod, tapping his helmet where the comm link was situated near his ear as a subtle sign to help comfort you, before he disappears into the tunnel.
Minutes tick by slower than normal as you wait for him to say something… anything. But all you get from him is the occasional grunt as he continues through the tunnel.
You stare into the window, as if staring at it any longer would will you to be able to see him.
The silence grows with each minute that passes, your grip on the handle tightening as he goes longer and longer without saying anything.
You’re about to call out his name, before his shocked scream suddenly fills your ear.
“Ryland?!”
Your heart hammers in your chest, his heavy breathing being the only thing you can hear from him before he gives a quick: “I’m okay!”
“What happened?”
Your voice held worry, maneuvering yourself around the window as if you’ll be able to see him at the right angle.
“An alien.” He breathes out, “I saw the alien… and it’s showing me something.”
He pauses for just a few deep breaths, as if he were calming his own racing heart.
“Is that me?”
A few silent seconds pass, and you regretted not getting into Ilyukhina’s suit to follow after him.
“It’s showing me a little figure of myself- it made the ship, too- I don’t understand…” Ryland pauses a little, and you imagine him watching whatever the alien was doing.
“You want me… to go back in my ship? But I just got here.”
The slightest smile tugs at your lips at Ryland’s words, hearing how badly he didn’t want to leave the alien he had just met.
“Okay… Okay.”
It seemed the alien must have been pretty persistent in whatever it was showing to Ryland.
“I-I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
Silence soon fills the comm link once again, and you only have to wait a few minutes before Ryland emerges from the tunnel into the airlock hatch.
The door hisses shut behind him, and he hurriedly removes the outer layer before opening the door once you had moved out of the way, gripping onto a nearby rope.
His blond hair was messy from the helmet, blue eyes bright in excitement at what he had just experienced.
“There was an alien,” He begins, using the rope to guide himself towards a screen where he can watch the camera that was facing the tunnel, you trailing behind him, intently listening to his words.
“He made a little figure of me and the ship, but there was a wall that separated us with only a little section that I could see through- wait. What are they doing?”
He pauses his excited rambling, watching as the tunnel is suddenly removed from the ship.
His mind so locked on whatever the other ship was doing, he suddenly moved towards the large viewing window, barely having enough time to stop himself on a nearby shelf to watch the other ship.
You follow close behind, staying on the rope and watching the other ship spinning, your head tilting ever so slightly in confusion.
“What are they doing?”
You repeat his earlier question, Ryland tilting his own head before something suddenly clicks, and he turns around to face you.
“Centrifuge. They want us to create gravity again.”
You move your body out of the way just enough as Ryland pushes himself off the window and towards the rope, leading himself towards the control room.
You follow with a little less hurry than Ryland, watching him as he moves around the control room, looking for that certain lever.
‘It is not advised to modify the centrifuge settings of the ship.’ The ship's robotic voice suddenly cuts through.
“Thank you, Mary.” Is all Ryland responds, flicking a few switches before grabbing onto the lever and engaging the centrifugal gravity system.
You keep your grip on the rope as you slowly lower onto the floor with gravity, eyes watching as Ryland already begins making a beeline towards the lab.
“Come on, Starshine. I’m gonna need your help.”
Starshine.
It flowed so easily from his lips.
Like in your memories.
Straightening your shoulders, you try to hide the smile that so desperately wanted to break out on your lips, and you follow after him.
Taglist Reblog (since some people have been requesting it! Sorry it took me so long to make it 🫶🏻)
@moon-trash1507 @bigolidioot @shittyprofilebutfuckit
Another Believer (14)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.6K
Warnings: None
A/N: Hello everyone! I'm going to be on vacation for the next 5 days, so I won't be able to update until I get back home. Thank you all again for loving my story as much as I do! <3
Masterlist
Ryland had decided that it would be best to send your own little message back to the alien, immediately getting to work on adding Earth to the star map the alien had made, working deep into what would be considered bedtime.
Deep in your mind, you faintly recall him always being like that.
It was just something you knew about Ryland.
Memories were coming quicker and easier; Less so being a hard time, and more just the fact that it was something you remembered.
Lying in your pod on your stomach, your chin rested against your crossed arms, eyes watching as Ryland configured a little Earth to add to the star chart object.
Your eyes fought the sleep that your body so desperately craved, having the need to watch over Ryland as he worked.
Your eyes flutter against your will, closing despite you trying to keep them open.
And when you finally push through the haze of sleep, your eyes just barely cracking open, you find yourself lying on something different, something slightly more comfortable.
Right beside the bed, Ryland sat at the desk, a stack of papers in front of him, barely being illuminated by the lamp that he worked so hard to keep from shining on your once sleeping face.
His eyes were focused in front of him, scribbling something with a ferocity only he could muster when he was working on something that troubled him.
“My Grace?”
Your voice was soft and groggy, breaking the silence that once encompassed the room.
Ryland jumps a little in his chair at the sudden sound of your voice, his knee banging against the desk and a hiss escaping him before he begins to quickly rub at the now throbbing spot.
His eyes quickly snap over towards you, finding you trying to hide the giggle that wanted to escape at his misfortune, a few snickers escaping despite your best effort.
“Starshine,” He breathes out, turning the chair slightly to where he was now facing you, “Did I wake you?”
He reaches forward, his hand coming to rest on your cheek, thumb gently rubbing against the soft skin there. The continuous motion relaxed you even further in the bed you lay upon, sleep risking to take you into its clutches once again.
“A little bit,” You mumble truthfully, “What are you working on?”
Guilt quickly begins to swim in his gaze as he stares down at you, his eyes flicking over towards the stack of papers before finding you once again.
“Just trying to perfect the equation for breeding Astrophage. One wrong move and this hangar goes sky high.”
Ryland’s answer causes a hum of a chuckle to escape you. How, even in the face of danger, his words still had that familiar lilt.
The excitement of science.
His thumb soon begins its gentle caress of your cheek once again, your eyes struggling to stay open just a few moments longer.
Ryland instantly notices.
“Go back to sleep, Starshine. I’ll be in bed soon.”
The addition of his soft spoken tone only added to your struggle, giving the smallest of nods before sleep easily overcomes you once again.
—
The next day was an important one for you while being on the hangar.
It would be your first time taking care of a baby while the parents went back to work after enough time had passed.
A room had been designated for you to work in, decked out with as much stuff as they could have delivered to them on the hangar.
You stood in the middle of the room, gently bouncing the infant boy, Phillip, in your arms while feeding them a bottle of breastmilk that his mother had prepared the night before.
There was a new guard assigned during this time who stood in the room with you as well, talking just enough to introduce themselves to you.
Trinity.
She stood straight, just like any other soldier that you had come across, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, eyes sharp and focused behind her glasses.
She wasn’t much of a talker; that much you could tell just from the few hours you were stuck in a room with her.
You didn’t mind.
You weren’t much of one either towards people you didn’t know.
The little boy in your arms squirms once he’s gained his fill from the bottle, causing you to gently pull it from his mouth and set it on the table beside you.
Making sure the burp rag is placed on your shoulder, you carefully adjust Phillip so that his head is lying against the same shoulder before patting his back to get him to burp.
Your rhythmic patting filled the once-silent room, Phillip’s little fists flailing around, soft sounds escaping him before a burp soon follows.
“Good job, hun.”
You hum out, moving Phillip to where he’s lying in your arms once more, his eyes staring up at you before glancing around the room with soft coos.
You move to sit in one of the chairs placed in the room, making sure to support Phillip’s head before your gaze finally moves over towards Trinity.
“So… what are you meant to do here?”
You ask, adjusting your grip on Phillip as he squirms around. Trinity’s eyes finally meet your own, having been staring out the window of the room this entire time. Her body remains tense, ready for any action that might require her.
Which you doubt would happen anytime soon.
“I make sure nobody else enters the room.” Is all she responds, before her gaze moves back towards the window.
A small sigh escapes you at how quickly the conversation had fizzled out, your gaze moving down to Phillip, only to find him beginning to fall asleep.
This was going to be a long… boring… day.
—
Day in and day out around the same person led to some interesting things.
Weeks of being confined together for long periods of time allowed you to slowly chip at the cracks of Trinity’s personality.
Phillip was currently sleeping in the small crib they had brought aboard, your eyes watching the consistent rise and fall of his chest, his little hands clenched into fists, the occasional soft noise escaping him as he dreams.
You sat at the small table, drinking water that they kept stocked in the fridge. Trinity was still stationed around the door, but her shoulders seemed looser, her body seemed less tense than it did on that first day.
Her eyes not so sharp.
“I heard another private is pregnant.”
Trinity’s voice, soft to keep from waking the sleeping infant, soon fills the room, your gaze snapping over towards her form. Your eyes widen slightly at the news that was given to you, your hand gripping onto the water bottle that you had just taken a sip from.
“Really?”
Your own voice matched in softness, knowing how easily Phillip awoke when his surroundings were too loud.
Trinity glances at you from the corner of her eye, her head doing the slightest of nods in response to your question.
Your lips quirk into a small smile at realizing that she was finally reaching out to start a conversation, even if it was because of a rumor.
And this wouldn’t be the last gossip session between the two of you in the nursery.
—
You yelp as your head suddenly aches, bumping into a hard surface.
Your eyes shoot open, sleep long forgotten as you find yourself floating in the pod, zero gravity having been activated while you had been asleep.
Using the wall of the pod, you carefully turn your body to look past the doorway of the sleeping quarters, finding that while you had been sleeping, Ryland had tied rope all around the ship to make navigating in zero gravity much easier.
How long had you been asleep?
You reach up to gently rub your eyes, willing the sleep away before pushing yourself out of the sleeping pod, gripping onto the nearest rope to keep yourself as steady as you could in zero gravity.
“Ryland?”
You call out, only to have no response be your answer.
You use the rope to guide you out of the sleeping quarters, making your way towards the lab, thinking that he might be there out of all the places on the ship.
But before you can get too far, you hear the sounds of shuffling towards the airlock hatch.
Pushing off one rope and grabbing onto another, you follow towards the sound, finding Ryland getting into the spacesuit once more.
As if sensing your presence, his body stops its movements and turns to face you, his eyes taking in your floating form gripping onto the ropes.
“Hey,” He breathes out, “You were out for a while. We actually got another object. They made a model of the two ships.”
He got the inner suit on easier now that he had done it quite a few times. When he looks back over at you, he finds confusion in your eyes.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” You ask softly, keeping your grip tight on the rope so you don’t float away from it.
Ryland pauses at your question, as if taking it in and determining the answer for himself.
“I didn’t want to wake you.” He responds simply, giving the smallest shrug as he moves over to the outer suit, “You looked peaceful.”
Peaceful.
Using the rope, you follow after him closer to the airlock hatch, now hanging onto the frame as you watch him put on the helmet without the struggle that he had last time.
“What are you doing?”
“In the model, they added a line going from their ship to this hatch. I’m trying to figure out what it means.”
He suddenly gestures beside where you were floating, making sure his helmet was in place.
“Make sure you put the comm link in your ear.”
His words were said as if this was all normal now, as if the prospect of aliens was slowly becoming something that he was getting used to.
You do as he says, though, following his directions as easily as breathing air.
The airlock hatch hisses as it closes, but he doesn’t open the other end; he instead waits at the window, watching the ship opposite the Hail Mary.
His breathing is all you hear for quite some time, your hands continuing to grip the nearest handle so you can watch him through the window on the door you were beside.
Suddenly, his breath hitches, and before you could even ask what happened, his shocked-filled voice echoes in your ear.
“A tunnel… holy cow, I think they’re building a tunnel.”
You don’t say anything in response, not knowing if you could even voice your own shock at the prospect of such a thing.
Time passes quickly, Ryland reaching over to grab and turn on the flashlight that had once been floating beside him.
“I’m going in.”
His voice crackles in your ear, breathless from fear of the unknown, but also excitement of figuring out what was going on.
“Be careful.”
You breathe back, getting nothing in response as you watch through the window. Ryland slowly opens the door, the outer edges of the lights suddenly flicking on as well.
Ryland double-checks his tether to the ship, his eyes glancing over his shoulder and locking onto yours. All he gives is a small nod, tapping his helmet where the comm link was situated near his ear as a subtle sign to help comfort you, before he disappears into the tunnel.
Minutes tick by slower than normal as you wait for him to say something… anything. But all you get from him is the occasional grunt as he continues through the tunnel.
You stare into the window, as if staring at it any longer would will you to be able to see him.
The silence grows with each minute that passes, your grip on the handle tightening as he goes longer and longer without saying anything.
You’re about to call out his name, before his shocked scream suddenly fills your ear.
“Ryland?!”
Your heart hammers in your chest, his heavy breathing being the only thing you can hear from him before he gives a quick: “I’m okay!”
“What happened?”
Your voice held worry, maneuvering yourself around the window as if you’ll be able to see him at the right angle.
“An alien.” He breathes out, “I saw the alien… and it’s showing me something.”
He pauses for just a few deep breaths, as if he were calming his own racing heart.
“Is that me?”
A few silent seconds pass, and you regretted not getting into Ilyukhina’s suit to follow after him.
“It’s showing me a little figure of myself- it made the ship, too- I don’t understand…” Ryland pauses a little, and you imagine him watching whatever the alien was doing.
“You want me… to go back in my ship? But I just got here.”
The slightest smile tugs at your lips at Ryland’s words, hearing how badly he didn’t want to leave the alien he had just met.
“Okay… Okay.”
It seemed the alien must have been pretty persistent in whatever it was showing to Ryland.
“I-I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
Silence soon fills the comm link once again, and you only have to wait a few minutes before Ryland emerges from the tunnel into the airlock hatch.
The door hisses shut behind him, and he hurriedly removes the outer layer before opening the door once you had moved out of the way, gripping onto a nearby rope.
His blond hair was messy from the helmet, blue eyes bright in excitement at what he had just experienced.
“There was an alien,” He begins, using the rope to guide himself towards a screen where he can watch the camera that was facing the tunnel, you trailing behind him, intently listening to his words.
“He made a little figure of me and the ship, but there was a wall that separated us with only a little section that I could see through- wait. What are they doing?”
He pauses his excited rambling, watching as the tunnel is suddenly removed from the ship.
His mind so locked on whatever the other ship was doing, he suddenly moved towards the large viewing window, barely having enough time to stop himself on a nearby shelf to watch the other ship.
You follow close behind, staying on the rope and watching the other ship spinning, your head tilting ever so slightly in confusion.
“What are they doing?”
You repeat his earlier question, Ryland tilting his own head before something suddenly clicks, and he turns around to face you.
“Centrifuge. They want us to create gravity again.”
You move your body out of the way just enough as Ryland pushes himself off the window and towards the rope, leading himself towards the control room.
You follow with a little less hurry than Ryland, watching him as he moves around the control room, looking for that certain lever.
‘It is not advised to modify the centrifuge settings of the ship.’ The ship's robotic voice suddenly cuts through.
“Thank you, Mary.” Is all Ryland responds, flicking a few switches before grabbing onto the lever and engaging the centrifugal gravity system.
You keep your grip on the rope as you slowly lower onto the floor with gravity, eyes watching as Ryland already begins making a beeline towards the lab.
“Come on, Starshine. I’m gonna need your help.”
Starshine.
It flowed so easily from his lips.
Like in your memories.
Straightening your shoulders, you try to hide the smile that so desperately wanted to break out on your lips, and you follow after him.
Another Believer (13)
Ryland Grace x F!Reader
Word count: 2.3K
Warnings: None
A/N: Thank you all for continuing to enjoy my story! <3
Masterlist
Ryland peeks over the edge of the doorway, staring out into deep space as his brain catches up with what he’s really about to be doing.
Endless space.
One wrong move, one wrong calculation, and he would be floating endlessly until he died.
Yeah… no.
He shakes his head, his resounding ‘no’ coming through the communication device that you had found right beside the airlock door and placed into your ear.
Turning around to face the door where you still stood, he uses gravity to his advantage as he pushes himself off the edge to make his way back.
“That’s crazy.”
Your eyes meet for just a split second before the rope tethering him to the ship suddenly snaps him back, his body floating past the frame into space, only kept from drifting aimlessly by that same rope.
His scream, silent in space, is echoed in your ear from the device in your ear.
“Ryland!”
Your shocked cry is heard in his helmet, his hands reaching out to grip onto the edge of the ship, another way to tether himself from floating away.
His breath was ragged, grip tight on the handle as his mind processes how quickly everything happened.
“I… I’m okay.”
He breathes out, his eyes staring straight ahead at the alien spacecraft before zeroing in on the object that was slowly moving towards the ship.
Your shoulders relax at his words, heart racing at seeing him there one minute and then gone the next.
Using a grip on the wall, you float your way back towards the control room, remembering all of the screens that showed camera footage of outside the ship.
Zero gravity was becoming easier and easier the more you were forced to experience it.
His heavy breathing was all you could hear as you maneuvered your way around the ship, finally making it to the control room and staring at the different screens.
It takes you a minute to find him, looking for movement across any of the screens to see him using the rope to make his way across the ship, tethering himself to different handles of the ship as he goes along.
You grip onto one of the chairs to keep yourself steady, staring at one of the monitors as he makes a running start towards the object.
Well, as much running as was possible in zero gravity.
Your eyes follow his movement on the screen, watching as he jumps out to grab the object, his hands wrapping successfully around the thing before the length of the rope goes taut and he’s jolted back towards the ship.
A slight noise escapes him from the shock of it all, but he pops back up, holding up the object, not only in triumph, but to show the other ship that he had received what they had sent.
Your lips tug into a bright smile at the sight of it, laughter bubbling past your lips while Ryland begins to make his way back inside the ship.
By the time you had used the walls to lead yourself towards the airlock hatch, Ryland had made it inside and was beginning to undo the spacesuit he was wearing until all that was left was the undersuit.
His hands grip onto the object, the airlock door hissing as it opens. Your eyes meet before you glance down at the object in his hands.
“What is it?”
You ask softly, following after Ryland as he uses one hand to lead himself towards the lab, placing the object near a table and letting it float in front of both of you.
“I don’t know. It could be anything.”
He answers while observing the object, using the handles behind him to keep him steady before crossing his arms, tilting his head slightly as if trying to look at another angle.
“It looks like it might open.”
You point to the indents at each end, not like the engravings all around the object.
Ryland hums at your observation, reaching forward and gripping onto the object while muttering, “Righty tightey, lefty loosey.”
He grunts as it leads to nothing; the object still remains unopened in his hands.
Situating yourself near a wall, you watch as Ryland hits the object against the table before using himself to hit the object.
Nothing works, though.
The object remains unopened.
Ryland suddenly grabs a scanner from his side, using it to scan the properties of the object as if it might help with understanding how to open it.
But it only leads to more confusion.
“Xenon’s a gas.” He stares down at the scanner before glancing over at you while shaking the scanner, “I think this thing’s broken.”
You watch as his frustration only grows, slamming the scanner down onto the table before throwing it behind him.
Your body instinctively flinches at the sudden sound, eyes following the way the scanner and the part that broke off float behind him.
His eyes flick over towards you at your movement, taking in the way your body cringed, his shoulders drooping in reaction.
He didn’t mean to scare you.
“Sorry.”
He sighs while removing his glasses and hanging them off his right ear, his body beginning to spin as he tries to think of how to open the object.
—
Ryland was spinning in his chair aboard the hangar, staring up at the ceiling as he took a break from work.
Things were better after the two of you talked about your feelings, finding solutions on how to help them instead of bottling them up.
He hears a conversation beginning to approach him from behind, sitting up and scooting in his chair to get out of the way, but also to seem like he was working instead of thinking about you.
“Sorry.” He mumbles, his hands instantly finding the work in front of him.
Stratt pats the back of his chair as she and another scientist walk past him.
He can make out some words of the conversation: Astrophage and Tau Ceti. He also hears them talking about how the equipment won’t work in zero gravity.
Slowly standing to observe the conversation, he makes his way to the doorframe, staring at the two as they converse about the fact that making equipment meant to handle zero gravity would take years of research.
Years that they didn’t have.
“We make gravity.” The scientist determines.
A wire lights up in Ryland’s brain, and he points over towards the two while merging himself into the conversation with just one word: “Centrifuge?”
“Centrifuge.” The scientist approves
Another wire lights up, and before he can stop it, the words flow quickly from his mouth. His mind so full of you that it can’t keep from interjecting the facts that you had told him.
“They, uh, used them to make butter during the Civil War, actually… That’s a… fun fact… from my girlfriend.”
Embarrassment flows through his system at realizing that he didn’t really need to say that, gently hitting his head against the door frame.
—
Centrifuge.
Ryland suddenly claps his hands together at realizing what needed to be done, looking over at you to find you still just staring at him.
He gives you a soft smile, victory shining in his eyes.
“I know what to do.”
And before you can respond, he stops his body from spinning anymore and uses the wall to guide himself towards a control panel, hearing you quick to trail behind.
Your eyes follow as he reaches for a switch once the two of you make it to the control panel, pulling it down and watching as lights begin to flick on all around you.
Something begins to happen.
You feel yourself spin ever so slightly, Ryland reaching out and gripping onto your hand to keep you from drifting too far.
It wasn’t long before everything began to right itself again; things were no longer floating around you, looking down at your feet as they slowly touched the floor beside Ryland’s.
It darkens for just a second before the lights begin to flicker on.
A small bit of laughter bubbles from you as your body begins to adjust to being in gravity again, your hand gripping onto Ryland’s to keep yourself from falling over.
The two of you, reliant on the other to keep your balance, begin to walk your way to the lab.
Walk.
It felt so strange after being in zero gravity for so long.
Your steps were slow, calculated. As were Ryland’s.
But where you had the mind to lift your leg over the doorframe into the lab, Ryland’s was slow to follow, causing him to tumble as his foot catches on the lip.
Thankfully, he catches himself before he can fully fall down and take you with him.
Laughter escapes you once more as Ryland corrects himself, his eyes quickly shooting to look over his shoulder at you with a heatless glare.
Embarrassment was painted on every inch of his face.
“It’s alright, Ryland. You’re just-”
A yelp escapes you as your foot catches on an object that was on the ground, something you had grown used to seeing floating around, causing you to stumble forward slightly.
Now it was Ryland’s turn for his laughter to fill the space between you, a sound you hadn’t heard from him since waking up on the spaceship.
Something flutters deep as you look over at him, your fingers still intertwined with his own.
The sound of his laughter.
So familiar.
So… nice.
Ryland doesn’t seem to notice your look as he continues walking towards the lab, you quick in tow, with the way his hand connected to your own was basically dragging you.
Once in the lab, that’s when his hand finally slips from your own, reaching to grab the scanner before heading towards the object, scanning it once again.
But the sight on the screen causes him to sigh and harshly place it onto the table beside him, a resounding bang coming from the action.
“Still Xenon.”
Moving to stand beside the table the object was resting on, your eyes follow as he begins to pace, frustrated ramblings quickly leaving him.
“Up is down. Left is right. Xenon’s a solid. Aliens are real. I’m wrong about everything, and everything is wrong.”
He grabs two chairs, pulling them up towards the table the object is on, silently sitting in one of them and not acknowledging the other.
It’s like his body moved without thought, grabbing you a chair as if it was second nature.
Slowly sitting beside him, your gaze remains on the object before slowly resting your head on your arms upon the table.
“It’s like everything is opposite.” You huff out.
Opposite.
This causes Ryland to pause, glancing between you and the object before something clicks.
It’s saying that Xenon is a solid, so that might mean…
“Lefty Tightey, Righty Loosey.”
Reaching forward, he grabs onto the end of the object, turning his hand right instead of the left that he had been doing before, a small hiss being the small sound of his victory.
A smile instantly quirks on his lips, the object had finally opened-
Was that ammonia?
The smell instantly causes his smile to drop, barely having enough time to watch as you pinch your nose from the smell.
“Oh no!”
‘Foreign presence detected.’
Ryland quickly rushes towards the advanced fume hood, opening the compartment quickly before shoving the object inside and slamming it shut.
“What was that?”
You question from where you’re sitting, still pinching your nose shut from the smell that had quickly permeated throughout the room.
“Ammonia. And a lot of it.”
Ryland answers as he begins to push his hands through the gloves before opening the object once again, finding things to be inside it.
He hears the soft scraping of the chair before your presence is soon felt beside him, staring down at the object as you watch him maneuver it around. There was one thing that seemed to be a ball with a line coming from it.
On the other end, opening with that same resounding hiss, there was a thing with a lot of spikes and round things at the end of them.
Which suddenly pops open.
Ryland quickly stumbles back into the desk, his arm wrapping around yours to pull you back with him, his mind instantly jumping to the conclusion that it could’ve been dangerous.
But when nothing happens, when no danger is present, Ryland rushes back to the fume hood.
He had a feeling that he knew what it could be.
Once he was sure that the ammonia smell was pretty much gone from the object, he moved the thing with a lot of spikes onto the table.
You stare at it, hearing him begin to type something onto the screen beside you.
“Do you think they’re trying to send us something?”
Your fingers carefully trace over the craftsmanship, making sure not to put too much pressure on the object due to how frail it looks.
Ryland doesn’t respond, though, too lost in testing out his theory as he gently moves the table, making sure it won’t you, aligning it up with the screen.
You move to stand beside him, matching the way he stood, so you could get the same view as him.
It matches exactly with the chart that he had pulled up.
“The stars?”
Your voice was soft, watching as Ryland pointed to the only different spike, his finger following towards the screen and landing on a star labeled ‘40 Eridani’.
His eyes move back to the object, finding yours through the spikes as he gives a slight nod.
“They’re a long way from home.”
Your own gaze flicks from the object to the screen, before finding Ryland’s gaze through the spikes once again.
“Just like us.”
