Breadyeet

Engi!

A lot of our dear engineer is about swapping his ways of showing his affection depending on the person he's with.

Him and Celci play fight that sometimes boils over into actual fighting. When she's being sincere and soft, or lets herself be vulnerable around him? He gets flustered as fuck.

With Gunther, it's a lot more physical flirting. Yes, the infamous ass-smack, but also playful shoving. It's always flustering. Always. Man's a tomato.

When it comes to Burt, he flounders a little. But one of them brings the other a schematic, or a problem to solve? They're inseparable for hours. Burt just might also recite some of that poetry, and our Engi is broke.

Gunther!

Like I said before, he's handsy. And he's full of absolutely awful pick-up lines (/aff)

He's holding Celci's hand or wrapping an arm around her waist. He likes playing up the loud, protective boyfriend. Maybe she's never had someone to do that before, for her. She's confident and many people call her cold. He knows better. If she leans in to kiss his cheek, or she rests her head on his shoulder? Gone.

He'll lean against Burt. Maybe Gunther's fallen asleep that way before, and woken up being gently carried to bed, so he can get a good rest. He's too used to being the protector, so when someone is a caretaker for him? Yeah.

As mentioned before with Engi, the ass-smack. He knows he can be more physical than with the others, so it ends up being a lot of rough-housing. That gets a little more...you know. >.> But if Engi hands Gunther a schematic for a new ADS droid, or a weapon? It's a little more tender of a look.

Burt

Of them all, Burt is a romantic. He's soft man, with a sharp mind and usually very little words...unless he's being poetic.

Regardless of partner, he writes them poetry. Gunther loves limericks, he thinks they're fun. Celci often gets sonnets: the measured beats feel right for her. Engi gets freeform poetry, and if asked, Burt will say that it just makes sense for him. It's hard to disagree.

He's also a pinnacle of quiet, measured support. Sometimes you just need someone to listen to you, or to sit in silence with, and everyone knows Burt happily does that.

So when others do the same for him, be his support, or write him poetry (at a far less skilled level than his) or recite it for him? He'll deny wiping a tear or two away, but his smile is impossible to ignore.

Celci

It's easy to mistake Celci as cold and efficient. She is, but she has a deeper part to her that she hides. She let's it out among you all.

Sometimes the playfighting with Engi gets too much. They go too far. But there are other moments where she just sits with him, running her fingers through his hair. Celci doesn't like removing her gloves, but she will for him. And he's the one that absolutely peppers her with nicknames and pet names: Cels, C.C., Snowflake...and maybe the ice queen of cryo melts a little at that.

She's opened up to Gunther about a lot of specific insecurities: of you all, these two have been together the longest. You wouldn't think they'd get along, but he knows how to bring himself down to a quieter level, and she lets her walls down. The soft moments between them are constant. Their flirting is impossible to figure out, but it happens.

Burt and Celci can often be found just existing in silence together. He'll offer to work loose the spot in her shoulder that constantly gives her trouble (she holds herself so tense and tight), something she always tries to deny but ultimately gives in. She sings for Burt, in return, something she doesn't let even Gunther hear. It's more special that way.

The Captain

The Captain is the pinnacle of Acts of Service. If anyone wants help from them, what-so-ever, they're there.

So when it comes to flirting...they flounder in how to make it feel romantic and not like what they do for everyone else. So they lean more into the needs that others aren't aware of.

It's bringing Celci a hot cup of tea fixed just the way she likes it, an iced tea for Burt to cool down. They'll bring Gunther a hot cocoa, full of marshmallows, because they know he likes them. It's bringing the person they never gave up on a fresh cup of coffee when it's late at night and their memories of what happened haunt them both.

It's finishing paperwork before the others can get to it, so they have less to worry about. Making sure they're going to bed, eating enough, almost fussing, but never crossing the line over into "too much".

They don't know how to handle being flirted with.

Celci will set up picnics in front of the window on the Bridge, begrudgingly admitting that the view of your new home is gorgeous, and maybe the windows aren't a bad idea after all. When she holds their hand, words fail them, even more so than when she gently kisses their cheek.

Burt will give them silent, long hugs, letting the world's noise fade away. He holds their hands, not needing to say a single thing, letting it all be a comfortable quiet. With how busy even the calmest days aboard the Invincible are, it's a welcome respite. They don't know how to thank him for that.

Gunther pulls them out of their shell, encouraging them to break the rules a little harder, to stop worrying about propriety and being the perfect leader. He makes them laugh, cause problems that don't hurt anyone in the long run. He gets them to have fun again. It makes their heart race in thrilling ways.

And Engi...our engineer, the only one who really truly knows everything that the two of them went through, the weight of all those realities on their shoulders...At times it's letting them sob against his shoulder. Others it's a quiet reminiscing of the funny things that happened, comparing notes of realities. The first time he sees their bare hand after it all, he lifts their palm to his lips, gently kissing the center of it. An apology and a declaration of love all at once, and it makes their face burn with the intimacy of it all.